The Hitch beauty, who is dating Hollywood hunk Ryan Gosling, was quizzed about her at-home style during an interview on U.S. news show Extra when she quipped, "Sweatpants? No, no, no, no, no, no, you can't do sweatpants. Ladies, number one cause of divorce in America is sweatpants. No, you can't do that."

Her comment sparked a debate online, with some women taking issue with Mendes' relationship advice and hitting back at her clothing criticism, prompting the sexy Latina to address the controversy online.

She took to her Instagram page on Friday (20Mar15) to clear up the claims by sharing a photo of her favourite loungewear and captioning it, "Dear favorite pair of sweatpants. I was just kidding when I said you're the #1 cause of divorce".

The cheeky star then teased, "Everyone knows that orange crocs (brand of shoes) are the #1 cause of divorce. Either way it was a bad joke and I feel terrible if you or anyone thought I was serious. Thanks for understanding sweatpants. Sorry orange crocs."

Gosling also spoke out to defend his woman on Twitter, writing, "Obviously sweatpants thing was a joke. Wearing them now. That's right, tweeting in sweatpants. Rats! Said too much! You win again Twitter."

Mendes and Gosling are parents to baby girl Esmeralda, who was born in September (14).