From love at first sight, at least on his part, to three children and seven years of marriage under his belt, the actor is content with his life and career.
"Alright, alright, alright...". If you heard this in his voice, then you know who this is about and it's none other than How to Lose A Guy In 10 Days actor, Matthew McConaughey. And his love story with his wife, Brazilian model, Camila Alves will have you swooning.
Seven years and counting, the 49-year-old actor is happily married to Camila. It was in 2006 that the couple first laid eyes on each other in a New York nightclub. At the time, Matthew had quite a reputation as a heartthrob. Yet, for the Oscar-winning actor, it was love at first sight. "I went in my head, ‘This is not the kind of woman you call over across the room, McConaughey. Get your ass out of your chair and go get her.’ Which I did," he said, according to Fabiosa.
However, it was not the same for Camila who wasn't taken in by his charm and beauty in the first go. Still, they did get together and by 2008, they had already brought their first child into the world - Levi, now 11 years old. And then in 2010, they had their second child, a beautiful daughter — Vida, 9. For quite a while, the couple was happy not having tied the knot, simply because, for them, the legal binding had nothing to do with their love and committment.
But then in 2011, Matthew decided to get down on one knee to propose to the love of his life and when he did, her reaction prompted his family to think she was going to say no. According to Today, Matthew recalled when he asked Alves to marry him during a family Christmas visit, "I remember hitting the knee, looking into her eyes and I remember her face. I remember this smile coming up from her feet. I remember her having to catch her breath," he said. "And she didn’t say yes right away," the True Detective actor continued. "And then the whole family was going, 'Jeezus, she’s gonna say no.'"
However, it's obvious she didn't say no as the couple got hitched in June, 2012 with their son, Levi, being the ring-bearer and daughter, Vida, being the flower girl. Yet, there was a bump in the road they had to overcome before they exchanged vows in his family estate in Texas. Because of how busy he was, the date of the wedding was constantly changing. Finally, Camila was tired of waiting for him to set a date and so set one herself before presenting him with an invitation and telling him, “Be there," according to ET Canada.
And soon enough, the couple welcomed one more beautiful baby into the family — Livingston, 6. But as much as he loves all his kids equally, it was his son Levi that helped him find himself. "Man is never more masculine than after the birth of his first child," he said, according to Today. "I don't mean in a macho way. I mean in terms of giving a man strength."
The way the couple parent is interesting too as they adopt a "blended" approach - a blend of fun and discipline. "We mix the ‘alright, alright, alright’ into the discipline,” the White Boy Rick actor said, according to People. He explained, “The main thing is that my wife and I, Camila, we have a similar moral bottom line. And as you learn, if you have kids, every day they get older, you realize how much more it’s really DNA.”
“We can nudge ’em and shepherd ’em, et cetera et cetera, but they are who they are,” continued Matthew, 49. “And right now, I’m just happy to say we have three healthy ones and they’re very much individuals.”
Despite being in the spotlight, the actor and his family keep it low-key. “Friday night’s the no-curfew night,” said the Dallas Buyers Club star. “It’s pizza night, it’s a movie night, it’s ‘all the kids can sleep with Mama and Papa night.’"
"That night can go late,” he admitted. “Sometimes we have to lie about the time and say it’s midnight when it’s really 10 ’cause we can tell it’s gonna go to 2.” But it's clear the recently appointed professor and actor is happy.
And he credits a lot of his success and choice in films to his wife, who inspired him to go with roles that he wanted. "A good woman," said the actor, according to Today, "gives a man courage and confidence — the courage to have the confidence to go and do it, to not be worried as much or consider as much what the rest of the world thinks."
References:
https://people.com/parents/matthew-mcconaughey-parenting-discipline-3-kids-wife-camila/
Cover Image Source: (L) Getty Images | Photo by Jason Merritt/TERM / Staff ; (R) Camila McConaughey's Instagram
