Eva Mendes on why she couldn't be a mother in her 20s: 'I was just foul-mouthed and smoking'

Eva Mendes is glad she joined the mom club later in life.

The actress, who shares two daughters with boyfriend Ryan Gosling, opened up about becoming a mother in her 40s in an interview with People magazine published Wednesday.

"When I was 40, it was a big deal for people when I was pregnant, and it wasn't for me," Mendes told the magazine. "And then I was 42, and I was pregnant with my second one and people were like, 'Oh my God, you're going to be so tired. That's why people have kids in their 20s.' I was like, that's the most sorry, asinine thing I've ever heard."

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Mendes and Gosling are parents to 9-year-old Esmeralda Amada and 8-year-old Amada Lee.

"It takes more patience," Mendes said of being a younger mom. "In my 20s, I shouldn't have even been around a child. I was just foul-mouthed and smoking. I could not have raised kids in any other era of my life but now, for sure."

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The "Hitch" star said motherhood has made her more conscious of her actions and the example she wants to set in her everyday life.

"It all matters when you have two little people watching you all day long," Mendes said. "It's frightening, but it's good because it makes me try to be a better person every day."

Contributing: Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY