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They've been together for over a decade.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Sep 25, 2022
After initially meeting in 2006, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves have cemented themselves as one of Hollywood's longest-lasting couples.
The two first met at a club in Los Angeles and McConaughey claims that it was love at first sight.
“That night I spoke 25 minutes of the best Spanish I’ve ever spoken in my life,” the actor recalled in a January 2017 interview with Howard Stern. “She spoke Portuguese. I don’t think I ever understood Portuguese as well as I did that night. I was focused. It worked.”
Two years later, the couple welcomed their first child, son Levi, and in 2010, they welcomed their second child, daughter Vida.
It wasn't until their son, Levi, asked why Alves had a different last name than McConaughey that "The Wedding Planner" actor thought about proposing to his then-girlfriend.
They tied the knot in a private ceremony in June 2012, and a few months later, Alves was pregnant with their third child, son Livingston.
After being married for a decade, Alves and McConaughey have a few rules they both follow to maintain their relationship.
Here are 7 rules Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves make each other follow in their marriage.
1. They deal with marital problems head-on.
When it comes to problems in their marriage, McConaughey doesn't shy away from directly confronting the problem.
In an interview with Australia's "Today Extra," the actor said, "If things are going well, keep catching green lights. If they're not, deal with them soon so they don't bubble up and get you later."
"I'm good. Family's good. Dogs are healthy," he continued when asked how life at home is, jokingly adding, "Wife doesn't want to kick me out."
2. They always "choose love."
In an interview with Hollywood Life, Alves opened up about the secret to her marriage with McConaughey.
“I wish I had a simple, short answer!” she said. “Relationships are work, but I choose love. I was actually thinking about it this morning, because you can go through a lot of things in a relationship, you can go through a lot of ups and downs, no relationship is perfect. It’s work.”
“But when you’re doing the work, what do you choose? That’s the question that it’s really important for people to ask when you’re working in your relationship, what do you choose? And for me, I choose love and I choose growth.”
3. Camila supports Matthew with his career.
In a 2021 interview for AARP the Magazine's June/July issue, McConaughey spoke about his decision to take a break from acting, and how his wife supported him through the decision.
"I was leading a successful life as an actor. I was the go-to rom-com guy. I liked doing rom-coms. They paid well," McConaughey said. "But I remember noticing at that time that my life was getting very deep. I found the love of my life in [my wife] Camila [Alves]."
"We had a newborn coming. I had more joy, I had more sadness. The extremes, the ceilings, and the basements of my own emotions of my life had more depth and more height to them. So my work, I felt like, 'Oh, I've got to kind of compress that with these rom-coms.'"
He continued, saying that Alves told him, "If we're going to do this, we're not going to half-ass it."
With his wife's encouragement, McConaughey stepped back from Hollywood.
4. They don't try and be a perfect couple.
Even though people see Alves and McConaughey as a perfect couple, the two don't hold those same standards for each other and their marriage.
While on an episode of "Anna Faris is Unqualified" podcast, McConaughey shared how he and Alves handle challenges together.
"No one is perfect," he said. "But if you can root for them to be more themselves... that's sort of a part of unconditional love, I think."
5. They share unconditional love.
In McConaughey's 2020 memoir "Greenlights," the actor wrote about meeting Alves and how the love they share has kept their marriage alive after so many years.
“We both essentially love each other for who we are, and who we were, even before we met,” McConaughey wrote, according to 7NEWS. "We got married with the pledge of doing this for the long run, and it’s not easy - it’s hard work. And I think it’s supposed to be hard work sometimes.
“But those times when it is easy and it is rolling and we’re just like best friends - we don’t make a straight line crooked.”
6. They have mutual respect for each other.
In a 2022 interview with Chatbooks, Alves opened up about the "secret sauce" to her marriage with McConaughey.
"It is really about having respect for your partner and keeping your curiosity alive. People say “keep the fire alive” — I say keep the curiosity alive in how you both can still evolve and love each other in that evolution," she said.
7. Camila and Matthew make time to spend together.
With their busy schedules, Alves and McConaughey try to always make time to spend with each other.
In an interview with US Weekly, Alves explained that she and McConaughey try and cook together whenever they can.
"We cook together. Even if I’m running late from work I say, ‘We’re having a late dinner,’” she said. “Does it happen every single day of the week? No, but it happens a lot.”
“[We do] a lot of staying at home, cooking together or getting a hotel room that is 10 minutes away from the house,” she continued. “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.”
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.