Matthew McConaughey admitted he was initially "scared" to marry his now-wife Camila Alves as he opened up about their relationship journey. The 55-year-old admitted that it was a question from his then four-year-old son that convinced him to pop the question to the Brazilian model. During an interview on Chris Williamson's Modern Wisdom podcast, the Oscar-winning actor revealed he was prompted to propose after his son, Levi, questioned why the couple had different surnames. Matthew and Camila began dating in 2006 and welcomed two children, Levi, 17, and Vida, 15, before they finally married in 2012. The couple's third child, Livingston, 12, was born in 2013.
"My son comes to me at four years old and says, "Why isn't Mama McConaughey?'" he said. "I'm going through my head. You're four, dude. I sat there. I was like, 'God, did your mom put you with this? It's a great question, but I mean, we're not because we're not married. When you get married, you switch your name. Okay.'"
Matthew continued: "And then he just got listened and all of a sudden he goes, 'Are you scared?' He's four years old, dude. And I was like, 'Yeah, I guess I am.'" The actor recalled going to a pastor for advice over his marriage doubts. "I remember going to a pastor and talking to a lot of different elder men who had had long-term relationships, were married for decades and stuff, and and and my pastor goes, 'Let me just ask you this, Mr. Risk Taker. What's the bigger risk?'" he shared.
"'Carrying on like you're going, it's going well, or taking the deeper dive into the sacrament covenant of marriage which should be a covenant between you and her and God. The trilogy will go forward. That will be a whole new adventure in itself. Are you what? What's a bigger risk? I was like, 'Oh, the getting married's a bigger risk.'"
"He was like, he didn't say another word. That was part of why I made the affirmative action and was what I was looking for as a way to play offense with that choice. I didn't want to do it because that's what you're supposed to do. It's time. We've been dating for this long. We got engaged. I didn't want to do it by the book," added the star.
The interview comes after Matthew revealed his sleeping arrangements with his wife in his new book, titled Poems & Prayers. The actor argued in favor of sharing a queen sized bed with your spouse, as opposed to a larger, and possibly more comfortable, king sized bed. "The best thing you can / do for your / marriage," one poem reads. "One way to surely / get ahead, / is get rid of that / king-size mattress, / and sleep in a / queen-size bed."
Matthew explained: "We have kids and we go to our friend's house and he has one of these double king-size beds put together and all the kids sleep in the bed," adding: "The wife's on one side with her side table and the husband's on the other side and it's great when you got all three kids, but all of a sudden the kids get too big. They're out of the bed."
"I wake up one morning … I'm looking over there and Camilla's like a football field away man. Then you go to bed at night, like you want to snuggle up and … 'Well, we've got to cover you up. Come about 12 feet and I'll come 12 feet,'" he further shared.
"I'm telling you, it's good for your marriage," he concluded.