Ryan Gosling, Mark Wahlberg, Matthew McConaughey's kids thriving outside Hollywood: expert

SUGGESTED COVERAGE: First look: Ryan Gosling as "Ken" in new "Barbie" movie

The first look of the actor as the muscular mate of the most famous toy in the world was released on social media by Warner Bros. Pictures, captioned "#BARBIE July 21, 2023 Only in theaters."

"Barbie" star Ryan Gosling and his wife, Eva Mendes, join several other A-listers in their exodus from Los Angeles.

The couple reportedly decided to move their two young daughters "a bit further north" from Hollywood. Ryan and Eva share two daughters: Esmeralda, 9, and Amada, 7.

"For them, the most important job is their girls. Everything else comes second," a source told People magazine. "And their girls are thriving. They left L.A. to live a bit further north, away from Hollywood. They didn't want the girls to grow up around other celebrity kids."

The source continued, "Eva and Ryan love their life. It's admirable how they've been able to create balance and boundaries. They care so much about their marriage and just want their girls to live a happy life."

Licensed clinical psychologist Michelle Solomon told Fox News Digital that a possible reason stars like Ryan and Eva are opting to raise their kids away from Hollywood is because a "more public lifestyle can have a significant impact on identity development."

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"In today’s culture, more kids desire to have online popularity and be in a space of social media influencing," Solomon added. "One could assume being in Hollywood would exacerbate this phenomenon. Most social media platforms are visually driven, which we know from almost all current research, facilitates negative social comparison, increases pressure to be perfect, and imposes metrics on its users (i.e, number of followers, likes, and comments). We know online life can lead to anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem."

Solomon continued, "There are countless fan accounts of celebrity children online. Parents, whether Hollywood people or not, may not want their children being photographed or potentially exposed and scrutinized online. The public lifestyle associated with Hollywood may no longer be appealing to parents raising children in the digital age."

Jill Charton, celebrity fitness trainer, told Fox News Digital, "A lot of families that I have worked with in the industry truly love moving outside of major cities because not only is it more laid-back, but it’s a healthier environment for their children."

Here's a look at other stars who've left Tinseltown to raise their families.

Mark Wahlberg, Rhea Durham

Mark Wahlberg has said his family is "happy" since leaving Los Angeles for Las Vegas.

"Everybody's adapted nicely," the actor told People magazine of his family – which includes his wife, Rhea Durham and their four children: Ella, 20, Michael, 17, Brendan, 15, and Grace, 13.

In an interview with Fox News Digital in March 2023, Wahlberg noted that "it's really giving the kids a chance to thrive."z

He continued, "It just has the best of both worlds. I know a lot of people, when they think Las Vegas, they think the Strip. But just about 15, 20 minutes away, there's a whole lot of other amazing areas that are all about family and community."

The Boston native told Fox News Digital the move was "really about giving the kids an opportunity to pursue their goals and dreams."

"My daughter's an equestrian," he added. "My son's a golfer. My oldest daughter, now she's off to college. My son's a junior."

Matthew McConaughey, Camila Alves

Camila Alves was hesitant in 2014 when her husband, Matthew McConaughey, wanted to move their young family away from their home in Malibu to his home state of Texas.

Alves, who is a Brazil native, explained to Southern Living magazine that she was happy, planting roots with her young family in California, when McConaughey sprang the idea of a move to her.

"We were living a happy life in Malibu," she explained. "We had a beautiful house that we’d built together and put a lot of love and care into. We were raising our kids there. I was growing everything in the yard. I had bees making honey."

A family crisis required that they fly to Austin to be with the actor's mother, Kay McConaughey.

One night after visiting Kay, Alves recalled being stopped at a traffic light in the passenger seat next to her husband. She told the outlet that McConaughey had "a peaceful but confident, energetic look" on his face in the idling car.

Alves recalled randomly asking her husband, "You want to move here, don’t you?"

"It was like one... two... three...," she said, eyeing McConaughey, "and you went, ‘Yep.'"

He quipped, "And you went –" to which Alves answered, "‘You son of a b....'"

The light turned green shortly after their conversation, and she recalled telling him, "Let’s do it," so they did.

The "Dazed and Confused" actor recalled the transition from California to Texas being harder for his wife, but Alves shared that she was used to the Southern way of life since she was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

"We grew up saying ‘Yes, ma’am’ and ‘No, sir’ or – as I should say – ‘Yes, ma’am’ and ‘Yes, sir,’" she told the outlet. "It takes me right back to how I was raised."

She has since adjusted and is enjoying life in the Lone Star State.

"In Texas, we were going to the church that we like to attend every Sunday. Sports became a stronger tradition for the kids," she began.

"Ritual!" McConaughey chimed in. "Ritual came back, whether that was Sunday church, sports, dinner together as a family every night, or staying up after that telling stories in the kitchen, sitting at the island pouring drinks and nibbling while retelling them all in different ways than we told them before."

Katherine Heigl, Josh Kelley

In September, Katherine Heigl admitted that her children were hesitant about moving to Utah, but the "Grey's Anatomy" actress knew it was the right decision for her family and would allow her to be more "aware" of what was going on in their lives.

"I think my children sometimes wish they were in more of a hubbub-y exciting city," the actress admitted on the "Today" show with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. Heigl shares daughters Naleigh and Adalaide and son, Joshua, with her husband, Josh Kelley.

Heigl continued, "But I said to them, ‘I understand that you are sacrificing that in some ways but I still think it was the right choice for us as a family because I am more centered and aware of what’s going on in your life.’"

"‘It’s a smaller town, I know who your friends are, I know who you are spending time with, I know what’s up with school,’" Heigl told the hosts. "It’s just easier to keep my finger on the pulse."

Heigl said she moved to Los Angeles right out of high school and lived in California for 20 years, adding she had support from her mother, which she is still grateful for today.

"My mom literally gave up every other part of her life to come and to support me and be my hammer," she said. "And as a young woman in Hollywood, it’s very difficult to be your own hammer. So having that and having somebody be the bad guy and lay the law down and protect me in my best interest was huge."

Heigl continued, "I don’t know who I would be if I had gone alone, and I don’t know what would have happened if I had gone alone or how much I would have compromised."

It was Heigl's mother who helped her realize she needed to take a step away from LA and find "somewhere to escape to."

In March 2023, Heigl told E! News that she didn't know how to raise her children in Los Angeles.

"I didn’t know how to raise them in L.A.," she told the outlet. "So I felt like I could do it here [Utah]. I could be more on top of things that scare me and I could be more on top of the kinds of friends they have and places they’re going, the kind of activities they’re involved in."

Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban opted to buy a home in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2007, one year after they married in her home country, Australia.

Urban, a New Zealand native, had moved to Nashville from Australia in 1992. Despite the couple also having bought a home in Los Angeles in 2008, they moved their family to the Music City.

During a 2016 appearance on "The Jess Cagle Interview," Kidman raved about her life in Nashville with Urban and their daughters: Sunday and Faith.

"That country music community is a very warm community," Kidman said. "It’s very protective. Keith’s been a part of it for decades now. It’s his home, it’s our home."

She added, "I'm just lucky that I fell in love with a guy that lived in Nashville, because I was meant to go there. I’m very, very happy to live there."

Kidman described her daughters as "Nashvillians," though, she noted that they have "a lot of Sydney in them, too."

"They have a southern drawl," she shared, adding that their accents also had "some Aussie."

"They have unusual mix," she added. "They're hybrids."

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