When she filmedThe Notebook, Rachel McAdams became the envy of many for being able to get close to Ryan Gosling on-screen and off.
The two met on set of the movie, which Gosling joined after a stint of independent films, while McAdams had just come off her iconic role as Regina George inMean Girls. But they had little chemistry away from the camera at first,according to director Nick Cassavetes.
“Maybe I’m not supposed to tell this story, but they were really not getting along one day on set. Really not,” he recalled to VH1. “And Ryan came to me, and there’s 150 people standing in this big scene, and he says, ‘Nick come here.’ And he’s doing a scene with Rachel and he says, ‘Would you take her out of here and bring in another actress to read off camera with me?'”
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Cassavetes had the two actors make up, for the sake of the film. “The rest of the film wasn’t smooth sailing, but it was smoother sailing,” he recalled.
Gosling and McAdams eventually began dating in 2005, long afterThe Notebookhad come and gone from theaters. It was “quite a while after the movie,” McAdams toldEllein its April 2007 issue.
As they started to date, the two walked more red carpets together and gushed about each other’s acting.
“He never does the same thing twice. He’s very brave,” McAdams toldElleof Gosling, nominated for an Oscar forHalf Nelsonat the time. “I don’t think he sees the point unless he can find out what he’s made of every time.”
“She doesn’t need any help from me,” Goslingtold PEOPLE in responsein April 2007. “She’s inspired me to do so much as well.”
Just weeks after praising McAdams, though, Gosling expressed his doubts about their status as a couple. When he attended a screening of his filmFracturewithout McAdams in sight, PEOPLE asked if the two were still dating. “No idea. No comment,” he replied.
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McAdams had also missedFracture‘s LA premiere. “She’s working,” Gosling said at the time. “We go back and forth. That’s just the way it is right now.”
The two officially broke up shortly after. Gosling reflected on it in theNovember 2007 issue ofGQ. “The only thing I remember is we both went down swingin’ and we called it a draw.”
He also noted the toll the split had taken on fans.
“A girl came up to me on the street and she almost smacked me. Like, ‘How could you? How could you let a girl like that go?'” he said. “I feel like I want to give people hugs, they seem so sad. Rachel and I should be the ones getting hugs!”
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Gosling and McAdams remained friendly after the breakup. She attended his first-ever DJ set in Hollywood in July 2008, and a source told PEOPLE, “He seemed happy to see her.” They saw each other again a few weeks later,when they got dinnerwith some friends in Toronto, Canada.
In December, a sourceexplained their relationship to PEOPLE.
Gosling “is still close to McAdams’s family and he still speaks to Rachel, but they are both openly single,” the source said. “He still loves Rachel and Rachel still loves him, but the timing is off and they can’t make each other happy right now.”
They began to date again in the time that followed, and eventually found new love. Goslingnow has two childrenwith actress Eva Mendes, 45, who hehas dated since 2011. McAdams, meanwhile, began datingscreenwriter Jamie Linden, 38, in 2016, and the twohad a son in 2018.
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Their careers have only flourished in the years since, as well. McAdams received her first Oscar nomination forSpotlightin 2016, while Gosling received his second forLa La Landin 2017. McAdams was last seenplaying Rachel Weisz’s loverinDisobedience, while Gosling’s last role was as Neil Armstrong inFirst Man; both movies came out in 2018.
For both actors, though,The Notebookremains a professional — and personal — milestone.
source: people.com
