Matt Damon became a Hollywood heartthrob back in 1997 when he wrote and starred in the hit movie Good Will Hunting with Ben Affleck and Robin Williams. Since then, he’s become one of America’s most popular and hardest-working actors, appearing in mega-hits like Saving Private Ryan, The Bourne Identity and its sequels, Ocean’s Eleven, and The Departed. While the Oscar-winner dated a number of celebrities over the years (most notably Minnie Driver and Winona Ryder), he finally settled down in 2003 when he met the woman of his dreams. Here’s the lowdown on Luciana Barroso, Matt Damon’s wife.
Matt Damon’s Wife Is Luciana Barroso
Nicknamed Lucy, Luciana Barroso was born in Salta, Argentina, on July 31st, 1976. While not much is known about her childhood, it’s been reported that she was raised by her Italian grandmother after her parents divorced. Before meeting Damon, Barroso was married to fellow Argentinian Arbello Barroso. The couple had one child together, a daughter named Alexia, and finalized their divorce in 2004.
The Couple First Met At A Miami Nightclub
Damon and Barroso met in 2003 while The Talented Mr. Ripley actor was in Miami shooting a movie. While Matt told Ellen DeGeneres it was love at first sight, Barroso’s recollection is a little different. “I was working as a bartender in South Beach (Miami) and he was shooting a movie there and the crew ended up in the bar one Saturday night,” she told Vogue Australia in 2018. “Matt’s story is that he saw me across the room and there was a light on me. And I’m like: ‘Yeah it was a nightclub – there were lights everywhere!’”
Barroso said that she and Damon had an instant connection and that she loved his enthusiasm about the fact that she was a mom. “We definitely had a connection right away, it was so easy to talk to each other we were very comfortable [with each other], and by the end of the night he invited me to go out with his friends. But I was like: ‘I can’t, I have a four-year-old daughter, I’m not going anywhere’… and that was one of the things he loved, that I had a daughter. He said: ‘I love that you’re a mum and that’s your priority.’
Some guys might have been different, they might think it’s complicated, but for him, it wasn’t,” she added. “When you meet somebody that you have a connection with, that’s just the person that you have a connection with, all the other stuff — the movie-star part— wasn’t really a factor. It was just Matt, to me he’s just Matt.”
Luciana Barroso And Matt Damon Have Been A Hollywood Power Couple Since 2005
After just two years of dating, Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso got married in 2005 in a small City Hall ceremony in Manhattan. The Ocean’s Eleven alum was eager to take the plunge, as he previously thought he would never meet the right woman to settle down with. “I remember thinking, in my early 30s, that I wouldn’t [get married], you know?” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. “I didn’t think it was going to happen for me. My brother found his soul mate very young; he’d just turned 26 when they were married. He’d been married for 10 years by the time I even met my wife, and I looked at this really happy, wonderful marriage and kind of went, ‘I guess that’s not going to happen for me.’ And then it did.”
Eight years after their low-key nuptials, the couple renewed their wedding vows a little more lavishly at an upscale resort on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. This time, there were some celebrity guests in attendance, including Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Jennifer Garner, and Don Cheadle.
In addition to the three daughters he now shares with Barroso—Gia, Isabella, and Stella—Damon is a full-time stepdad to Alexia, now 22. The Ford v Ferrari actor says he loves being and dad and doesn’t mind being the only man in the house. “It’s great … you never know which way life’s going to take you,” he said in an interview on Today. “I’m learning so much, not the least of which is how much smarter girls are. I operated under the assumption that us guys had a chance, but I realized when I was completely wrapped around [Stella’s] finger, and she knew it. If they can do that to us [at a young age], when they’re fully grown, we really don’t stand a chance.”
Matt Damon also credits his wife for helping take the pressure off of him, and it’s clear that they have an amazing relationship together. Watch the clip below of Damon gushing about Luciana Barroso and how beautiful she is:
Did Matt Damon And Luciana Barroso Split Up?
During the course of their 15-plus years of marriage, Damon and Barroso have become one of the most stable and celebrated couples in Hollywood. Recently, however, there was speculation that the happy pair might be headed for divorce. Tabloids claimed that Damon was spotted without his wedding ring a number of times and that Barroso was upset because Damon was drinking too much and spending too much time away from his family.
But we’re happy to report that these claims were bogus. Damon and Barroso are still very much together — and grateful for it! “I just know I think we both feel, really, really lucky to have met each other so we don’t take that for granted,” Barroso told Vogue Australia. “It’s life and marriage, so there are ups and downs you know, but overall it’s easy and it’s fun. And he’s such a good dad.”