Matthew McConaughey had doubts about whether he would ever find "the one" until he realized he was "looking too hard."
Editor's note: This article was originally published on October 15, 2020. It has since been updated.
Books, movies, peers, and adults all tell us tales of finding true love. From our teen years, many of us believe that we need to actively go find our "the one" or the soulmate. Some of us find that person quickly while others need time. We hope to find a life partner who will love and respect us forever. For many, that person appears when they stop searching and actor Matthew McConaughey had a similar experience. The How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days actor had taken a backseat from searching for the love of his life when he met Camila Alves. He had doubts about whether he would ever find "the one". He realized he was "looking too hard" and needed to calm it, as per People.
"I was like, 'Wait, just wait. Be yourself. She’ll come if she’s supposed to come. And if she doesn’t, that’s okay, you’re still a good man, McConaughey,'" the 53-year-old Oscar winner said. His patience paid off because he met Alves after he stopped looking.
"That’s when she showed up, and she moved right to left in front of my eyes across that club. It was as if she was floating. And I did not say, ‘Who is that?’ I said, ‘What is that?’ And then introduced myself," he added.
McConaughey fell in love with model Alves at first glance. As per Southern Living, when he saw her, he told himself, "This is not the kind of woman you call over across the room, McConaughey. Get your **** out of the chair and go get her. Which I did."
The actor believes that their timing was just right and if he had met her before, things would have been different. "It's gotta be the right person but it has to be the right time. You could meet a good matter of 15 years ago and it wouldn't have- maybe not would have been. How many people in your past have you met where you go 'Ooh, if I would have actually been hanging out with them'. At the time I was ready, would they have been, right? I don't know the answer, we don't know the answer to those questions. It was the right time for me. I was not looking, I was very happily single," he added.
Since meeting in 2006, the Magic Mike actor and Alves have been together. "Since that evening I have not wanted to spend time with any other woman, and definitely have not wanted to sleep with anyone else. I’ve not wanted to have children with anyone else other than her," he told People of his deep relationship with his Brazil-born wife. "We have a love that we never question." They married in 2012 and have three kids, Levi, Vida, and Livingston. "All three are very, very caring and kind individuals," said the True Detective actor. They don't try to hide their children from the outside world or from various aspects of his life.
The Failure to Launch actor added, "We don’t want to insulate them overly from the world [or] from the success that I’ve had as ‘Matthew McConaughey, actor, celebrity.’ We let them know that Papa’s celebrity does not define Papa. Doesn’t whatsoever, but is Papa a celebrity? Yes. At the same time, we say, 'That’s not where our worth comes from.'"
Alves, who is now an entrepreneur and philanthropist, and her husband share similar family values and have tried to teach their kids the same. The Interstellar actor said that they try to teach their kids that "real merit comes from how we’re trying to be as people, how we are as parents, how we love you, how we love each other." They also don't let their kids have illusions about themselves as parents. Their kids know that "mom and dad aren’t perfect at it, but we try to do our best."
References:
https://people.com/movies/matthew-mcconaughey-on-his-full-life-with-wife-camila/
Source: Getty Images | Photo by (L) Kevin Winter (R) Jason Merritt
