Eva Mendes likes to keep her private life, well, private.

So when the 48-year-old actress recently posted a photo on Instagram, sharing a never-before-seen wrist tattoo with the script "de Gosling", the internet collectively lost their mind.

"I had no idea it would do that. But the thing is, it's not a new tattoo at all, I've had it for years," Mendes toldMamamia.

"I just thought it was a cool shot; it kind of looks like a woman warrior supporting her man."

The actress has been with her partner, actor Ryan Gosling, 42, for a decade, and the tattoo represents a hybrid of her culture and his. As Mendes is Cuban, the "de" translates to "of".

"And it also means... it's a sexy thing. I say this as a very empowered feminist, it means that I belong to him," she said.

Mendes and Gosling have never confirmed or denied that they are married. People assumed this was her announcement.

"To me, I'm just like, it's not anyone's business," she said of the speculation.

Mendes, whose film credits includeTraining Day,Hitch, andThe Place Beyond the Pines, has two daughters, eight-year-old Esmeralda and six-year-old Amada, with Gosling.

The family of four have been living in Sydney, Australia for the past two months while Gosling films his new action-thriller,The Fall Guy.

"Love it, love it, love it," the actress said of her time in Australia.

"I've been here before but I haven't been here with the kids so I'm seeing it through a mum's eye. I love all the parks, all the playgrounds, [and] there are actually a lot of stage productions and creative shows that I've taken them to."

Mendes and Gosling met back in 2011, when they starred in Derek Cianfrance's powerful filmThe Place Beyond the Pines.The pair played an estranged couple who shared a son. Soon after, they began dating.

Since then, the couple have worked together on one other film,Lost River, where Gosling made his directorial debut. The 2014 film was the last thing Mendes starred in.

Earlier this year, the 48-year-old responded to rumours that she had "quit acting", having not appeared in a role for eight years.

"I wanted to change the narrative," she told us.

"I was like hold on, there's a narrative out there that I quit something and first of all, that's such a silly word. I don't like the word quit.

"You can walk away from something and not have it be quitting. But I also prioritised my life and I kept working; I've been working the whole time, I just haven't been acting."