Matthew McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves, met at a Hollywood hotspot all the way back
in 2006 and have been together ever since. Juggling careers, family, COVID, and their
foundation seems to have brought the family even closer. Here's the truth about their
happy marriage.
The meeting of Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves started with the actor, cyclist Lance
Armstrong, and other celeb pals making margaritas out in the open, at Hyde on the Sunset Strip,
in 2006.
According to an interview with People, McConaughey spotted Alves in the club and said to his
crew, quote, "What is that?" Not exactly poetry, but it did inspire McConaughey to get up and
invite Alves's group to have drinks with him. She, however, remembers it differently. Alves
told Access:
"I did not know who he was. At the time he had a really long beard, and he had this rasta
hat. He was all covered up, and I didn't really realize who he was."
It wasn't until Armstrong came over that Alves realized who she was talking to. Upon figuring
it out, she immediately decided she needed to get away from them.
Ok, so Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves' meeting isn't exactly the stuff of dreamy
Hollywood love stories. But it does get better, kinda. As happens in clubland, at the end
of the night, Alves revealed that she didn't have a car, and McConaughey conveniently had
a "guest room" she could stay in, so he invited her back to his place. Apparently, that line
works when you've got Dazed and Confused under your belt.
But Alves really did just want a place to crash, and she spent the night alone in the
actor's guest room in the Hollywood Hills. McConaughey admitted to Howard Stern he definitely
tried to sneak into her room a couple of times, but was rebuffed on both attempts.
He didn't see Alves again until the next morning, when he woke up to find her having breakfast
with his friends and housekeeper. McConaughey said:
"[They were] holding court like they'd been buddies for 10 years."
This was, as he said, the moment he realized Alves was someone different, and he drove
her 45 minutes back to her car.
Celebrity dating must be difficult, as you add the awkwardness of spending time with
someone you want to impress with the constant threat of paparazzi, with literally everyone
in the restaurant watching to see how your date is going. So it would make sense that,
rather than take his Brazilian model date to Spago or Nobu, McConaughey instead opted
to make her dinner at home.
But it wasn't just a fear of paparazzi or gawking fans that caused McConaughey to have
their first date at home. Cooking at home, he later dished to Collider, is his ideal
date. McConaughey explained:
"I'm cooking it. My date's cooking it. And we're trying to make it last as long as possible.
Maybe a trip down to the store for something fresh on the meat side, but other than that,
we want to basically [...] clean out the fridge."
Ah, the benefits of being the sexiest man alive, when you can literally invite a woman
over, open the fridge, and be like "what do you wanna make?"
Though the Hollywood Hills house where Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves had their first
couple of dates was probably a nice place, it wasn't the Oscar winner's idea of the home
he wanted with his partner.
In an interview with Esquire, McConaughey admitted his abode in the Hills was, quote,
"super," and that he could have moved Alves in with no objection. But it didn't quite
feel right. He revealed:
"I found the woman I wanna do it with, the woman I wanna make a family with. Hopefully
live our life out together. She needs to have 50 percent of that."
The result was a custom-built four-bedroom, three-bathroom home, on just over an acre
in Malibu's Point Dume. The couple gave the property a massive remodel after it was purchased
in 2007. At the time, the home cost just over $10 million. They sold it to Solo: A Star
Wars Story movie producer Phil Lord in August 2020, for a reported $14.8 million.
During the so-called "golden age of Hollywood," a celebrity couple having a child out of wedlock
would have been a major scandal. Thankfully, times have changed, and couples like Matthew
McConaughey and Camila Alves can have multiple kids without getting married. They welcomed
their second child, Vida McConaughey, in January 2010. This was in addition to their then 17-month-old,
Levi McConaughey.
Despite the two children, however, in 2010, neither McConaughey or Alves had much intention
of tying the knot. In 2009, after already having Levi, McConaughey told Collider, quote,
"I don't have any plans for it."
Alves was on the same page. In an interview with Access, she said:
"I was never the girl that grew up saying I want to get married. I actually told my
parents to not expect me to get married."
Of course, people's minds change, and as Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves matured and added
to their family, so too did their plans for marriage evolve. At least, Camila's did.
McConaughey told GQ in 2014 of his ultimate decision to propose. The couple talked about
marriage, discussed it with friends who'd been divorced and friends who'd been married
for years, and ultimately decided after two kids and six years together, it was the right
time to tie the knot.
The proposal took place on Christmas Day, as the actor simply posted:
"Just asked Camila to marry me, Merry Christmas."
By celebrity wedding standards, McConaughey and Alves' wedding wasn't an overblown affair.
Aside from being on the cover of People, of course. Other than that, it was your standard
Texas home wedding with 120 guests, stretched over three days of what People described as,
quote, "summer fun" in June of 2012. The ceremony took place on McConaughey's sprawling Austin
estate, where he'd set up tents for guests to escape the Texas heat.
Among the celebs in attendance were Reese Witherspoon, Kenny Chesney, and Woody Harrelson.
But perhaps the most important guests were the pair's children: Levi McConaughey, who
was almost 4, and Vida McConaughey, who was 2-and-a-half. They were ring-bearer and flower
girl, respectively, and part of a full catholic ceremony. Alves, the proud mother and bride,
said:
"Somehow they both seem to understand what we are doing on a spiritual level."
The temptation that comes with being the sexiest man alive — or at least the sexiest man
alive in 2005 – must be undeniably strong. But unlike many Hollywood marriages that have
fallen apart because of the perks of celebrity, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves have
held strong. And his ability to stay faithful is a big reason why.
In an interview with GQ, McConaughey discussed his faith and how he still brings his family
to church every Sunday. It showed the family side of the actor that's often left out of
the Magic Mike mystique. But perhaps his most-telling interview on his prioritization of family
came from an unexpected source: an interview with Playboy in 2016.
And in a 2019 feature on the couple, E! News cited the Playboy interview, quoting McConaughey
as saying:
"I have been very faithful with my wife, very selfishly. I like being under her spell. I
don't want to break that spell."
In addition to Levi and Vida McConaughey, McConaughey and Alves added a third child
to their family after they were married in 2012. In December of that year, they welcomed
their son, Livingston McConaughey. If you've ever heard the actor shout out to Mr. Stone
during an acceptance speech, this is who he's talking about: it's the nickname McConaughey
uses for Livingston.
All told, it seems McConaughey is happy as a family man, as his solid home life has allowed
him to grow professionally. He told GQ:
"The more secure I feel at home, the more I feel like I'm able to fly."
Though in context, this sounds like a metaphor for allowing his career to take off. But it's
McConaughey, so it could just as easily mean he's used it as an excuse to take up base
jumping.
Holding a marriage together for over a decade in Hollywood is a more impressive feat than
landing a star on the Walk of Fame — which Matthew McConaughey has also done — so how
he and Camila Alves have stayed together so long is the source of great curiosity. However,
the couple seems as curious as anyone, as Alves quipped to Us Weekly:
"If you have the answer please share with me because I'm also trying to figure it out."
Dropping the self-deprecation for a moment, Alves revealed that their formula isn't anything
all that groundbreaking. She said:
"We cook together. Even if I'm running late from work I say, 'We're having a late dinner.'"
"We eat meals at home together. And cook 'em together. Which is sorta one of the great
family times for anybody. Which is part of what we're teaching in our curriculum."
Their other secret: staycations. Alves disclosed the couple will often abscond to a hotel near
their home for some quiet and alone time. She explained:
"Just the fact that you don't have to wake up to kids screaming for help with something
— it already does something to a mom's brain."
Part of the inherent strain on movie star marriages are the extended trips away for
on-location shoots. Even with three children in tow, however, Camila Alves wasn't about
to let Matthew McConaughey's role as Kenny Wells in Gold keep the family apart.
So when he went to Thailand to film, she came along, as did Vida, Livingston, and Levi.
To hear McConaughey tell it, having them there made all the difference. He told Entertainment
Tonight:
"I have a wife that thankfully tells me when I go to work, 'Don't look in the rearview
mirror. Go do your work, get obsessed with that. I got it. I got your back.' So it makes
the whole process so much more enjoyable."
McConaughey added that the whole experience was especially enjoyable for his kids, as
he was trying to gain 50 pounds for the movie and was down to eat junk food every night
of the week.
"So how much weight did you gain in total for this?"
"Forty-seven pounds."
They nicknamed their father "Captain Fun," because he pretty much said yes to everything,
bringing a little bit of the freewheeling Kenny Wells character home with him every
night.
"I was a really fun dad for that six months. Because I was like no pizza night's not just
Friday night, it's Tuesday night…”
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns really put a crimp in those paparazzi-fueled
photo exposés.
"When we get out of this, this virus, this time might be the one time that brings us
all together and unifies us, like we have not been in a long time."
Coupled-up celebs have faced the same, cooped-up challenges as everyone else. According to
People, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves quarantined with their three kids and his
88-year-old mother, which left precious little alone time.
McConaughey said on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show:
"Sometimes you go through the day and you got the kids' remote schooling, you get everyone
set up, you're doing meals and running around [...]"
However, McConaughey also credited his wife with creating some structure around the house,
and having time where the kids weren't allowed to knock on their door. Still, he revealed
that the experience allowed him to get to know his house and pets better, and joked
that he couldn't keep up with his octogenarian mother.
In addition to gracing the cover of People and scores of other celebrity mags, Matthew
McConaughey and Camila Alves also found themselves fronting Town & Country's philanthropy issue
in 2020.
The honor was the result of their work with the Just Keep Livin' Foundation, an organization
the couple founded in 2008 to help at-risk teens in Los Angeles-area schools. It's now
spread to six states and Washington, D.C., and employs 84 teachers who serve over 3,000
students. The program works with students four hours
per week, with nutrition, exercise, yoga, and community service components. And, according
to McConaughey, it's helped turn around lives in a positive manner. He told Town & Country:
"We end up getting really exceptional kids [who] were on the wrong path and do complete
turnarounds. They'll become valedictorian, get a scholarship, graduate, and land a great
job."
In addition to their work with the foundation, McConaughey and Alves also helped out during
the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, delivering masks to hospitals in remote parts of Texas
and hosting virtual bingo games.
“Got a I-24. I-24. OHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
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