Eva Mendes remembered her late-brother and giving birth to her daughter Amada in an emotional post on social media.
The Hitch actress, 50, took to Instagram to share with followers why April was such a hard month for her, sharing a photo of herself looking wistful as she stared off into the distance.
"Oh April…", she started. "I have such a complicated relationship with you."
"Tomorrow would have been my brother’s birthday…..in a couple of weeks from now is the day we lost him…but then, the end of April we got the biggest blessing of all, my little girl was born 8 years ago", she continued.
Eva signed off the post: "I hate you April. But I love you more."
Fans took to the comments section to share their own instances of grief, which she responded to graciously.
"My brother was married in April. Five years later his son was born in April. Six years later, 13 days before his son turned 6, my brother died in April. Very bittersweet month for my sister-in-law", one fan wrote.
Eva responded: "I’m so sorry. Here’s to our brothers" with some heart emojis.
Another fan shared: "I understand. Had my first pregnancy after years of trying and right when I was due to deliver, my sister was diagnosed with cancer. She died six months after I had my daughter."
They continued: "The happiest time of my life collided with the saddest time of my life. Since she died in April, it’s a tough month here too. But the best thing to do it to reclaim the month and you had a very good way to do that. Hugs to you on the upcoming anniversary of your brother’s passing".
The 50-year-old replied: "Wow. Thank you for sharing. That’s very close to my experience. When he was diagnosed with cancer I was pregnant with my first and when he passed I was pregnant with my second. Sending you loads and loads of love".
Eva and her partner Ryan Gosling have been open about how difficult this period of their lives were, with the latter opening up about the pain during the 2017 Golden Globes, when he won for La La Land
"I'd like to try and thank one person properly and say that while I was singing, and dancing, and playing piano and having one of the best experiences I've ever had on a film, my lady was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer," Ryan said.
"If she hadn't taken all that on so that I could have this experience, it would surely be someone else up here other than me today," he continued, before thanking his "sweetheart".
The star went on to dedicate his win to his partner’s late brother Juan Carlos, who died on 17 April 2017 at the age of 53.