Legendary actor Matt Damon’s love story with his wife Luciana Barroso sounds like something out of a rom-com! The pair had a chance encounter when the Good Will Hunting star ducked into Luciana’s bar in 2003 to hide from fans, and the happy couple have been together ever since, with Matt adopting Luciana’s daughter Alexia and sharing three more daughters with his partner.
In celebration of the starry couple’s 20-year wedding anniversary, we’re taking a look at their loving marriage in photos, from their magical first meeting to stepping out on the red carpet with the rest of the Damon brood.
Matt and Luciana during one of their first public outings in May 2004
A chance encounter
Matt first met his future wife when he was visiting a bar in Miami while filming Stuck on You in 2003; in an effort to escape some eager fans, the star ducked behind the bar where Luciana was working.
“I put him to work with me!” Luciana told Vogue Australia. “You know, if you’re going to be back here, you can’t just be standing there!’” Matt, a former bartender, accepted the challenge – and apparently wooed her by earning her lots of tips. “It turned into a really fun night.”
Matt had the sweetest analogy for becoming a stepdad
Wedding bells
The happy couple tied the knot at New York City Hall on December 9, 2005, in a private ceremony – and the Jason Bourne star not only married the love of his life, but became an “extra dad” to Luciana’s six-year-old daughter Alexia, who she shares with her first husband, Arbello Barroso.
"I jumped into the deep end with Lucy," Matt remarked to Parade. “I was an extra dad…the only way I can describe it – it sounds stupid, but – at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows, like, five times its size? Everything is full; it's just full all the time."
Matt shared his advice for balancing work and family time
Film premieres and family life
Luciana rose to the role of supportive Hollywood wife, constantly supporting Matt at red carpet premieres and lavish events – and looking every inch the movie star herself.
The devoted couple also welcomed three more daughters over the years – Isabella (born 2006), Gia (born 2008), and Stella (born 2010). Matt shared his secret to balancing his successful career with family time, telling Your Tango, “We have a two week rule: I'm not away for more than two weeks.”
The pair are close with fellow celebrity couple Emily Blunt and John Krasinski
In good company
The husband-and-wife duo have no shortage of famous Hollywood friends – in fact, they’re not only very close with Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, but the families live in the same New York apartment building.
"Matt is just the most easygoing, beautiful person," Emily remarked during an appearance on Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi in 2023. "Lucy is even more beautiful – sorry, Matt!” The Devil Wears Prada actress joked that the families were “like some weird commune” – “I don’t ever see Matt Damon not in his slippers anymore, you know.”
The couple marked eight years of marriage with a vow renewal ceremony
Vow renewal
Just eight years after saying “I do”, Matt and Luciana renewed their vows in 2013, proving that the pair remain dedicated to each other.
In a tear-jerking ceremony officiated by Jimmy Kimmel, Matt reportedly told his wife he’d always “keep my sense of humor through everything and anything life throws at us” and “be the dad our four beautiful children deserve, and to be your best friend”.
Matt described meeting the right person as "getting struck by lightning"
Steadfast support
As Matt’s continues to cement himself as a Hollywood legend, the actor consistently reinforces the importance of family – and his wife’s steadfast support.
“I found the right person and it was like getting struck by lightning,” the actor gushed to The Telegraph in 2014. “My life is so much easier because of my wife and my marriage…everything makes sense.”
The actor had the best advice for raising daughters
Raising four daughters
A devoted father through and through, the Interstellar actor even has the names of his four daughters on his arm, as well as his wife’s. The couple made a rare appearance with all four of their daughters at the premiere of The Instigators in 2024, and looked every inch a proud girl dad.
Matt gave his honest advice for raising daughters during the flick’s press tour, remarking, “I wouldn't dare to give anybody advice other than I just try to listen and be helpful…it's about building self-esteem”.
Matt's radiant wife called their marriage "easy and fun"
Luciana's advice
So what’s the secret to a long-lasting, healthy relationship in the public eye? “No idea!” Luciana admitted to Vogue Australia. “I just know I think we both feel, really, really lucky to have met each other so we don’t take that for granted.
“It’s life and marriage, so there’s ups and downs you know, but overall it’s easy and it’s fun. And he’s such a good dad.”