Matthew McConaughey's Wife Camila Alves Set The Record Straight On His Relaxed Reputation

Well all right, all right, all right. As an Oscar-winning actor and heartthrob, Matthew McConaughey has been in the spotlight since the '90s. Since then, he has stacked up accredited roles in cult classics, such as "Interstellar," "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," "Dazed and Confused," and more. Perhaps it was the latter film that cemented the image of McConaughey to the public as a laid-back, potential stoner.

Or maybe it was his infamous arrest in 1999 related to the possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. According to Entertainment Weekly, after a noise complaint was made, police appeared at McConaughey's home to find him completely nude — playing bongo drums. While he was eventually able to drop the odd charges, it appears his past will not be so easily forgotten.

His wife Camila Alves spoke out to let fans know that despite his public image, the real McConaughey would surprise us. "He's actually the opposite, and he's like his mom," Alves revealed to "Biscuits & Jam," a Southern Living podcast. Of his mother Mary McCabe, Alves continued: "She's very organized, very minimalistic, very on-time, very prepared. And he gets a lot of those traits from her." Now enjoying his title as an esteemed actor and potential political candidate, McConaughey has definitely cleaned up.

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves have been married since 2012 and met six years before. After nearly two decades together and three children later, it's safe to say you'll know someone pretty well. But early in their romance together, Alves quickly found all assumptions thrown to the wind. The Brazilian model was surprised that, as she got to know McConaughey, his personality was not what she — and many of us — would have expected.

"When we first [started] dating, it was this image of Matthew of getting high, laid back, no shirt, whatever, which I'm like ... the guy doesn't even smoke," Alves revealed on "Biscuits & Jam." Despite his decision not to make smoking a habit, it is clear that the beloved actor still indulges from time to time. While working on "The Beach Bum" in 2019, McConaughey shared that he had a smoke sesh with none other than the cannabis king himself, Snoop Dogg (per Entertainment Weekly).

Alves also found that she could learn more about her partner by getting in good with his mother. However, bonding with Mary McCabe proved to be more difficult than she expected, though it eventually taught Alves a great lesson.

As Camila Alves and Matthew McConaughey began their romance, it appears there was a third person apparent: Mary "Ma Mac" McCabe. As their relationship got more serious, the Yummy Spoonfuls owner found that her beau's mother would be a lot harder to win over. Early on, Alves said that McCabe had a series of tests for her to pass in order to win her approval. 

"She was really testing me. I mean, really testing me," Alves recounted to the "Biscuits & Jam" podcast. "She would call me by all of Matthew's ex-girlfriends' names, she would start speaking Spanish with me in a very broken way, kind of putting [me] down a bit." Eventually, Alves had enough of McCabe's jabs and gave it right back to her. Much to Alves' surprise, this was just the reaction her future mother-in-law was looking for. "So I just flip it on her and brought my spicy Brazilian Latin side, and I let her have it," she recalled. "She just looked at me and she was like, 'Okay. Now you're in,' ... All she wanted was for me to fight back."

Since then, Alves has noted that their relationship has become incredibly close. McCabe has made several appearances with her son and daughter-in-law on the red carpet. The former actress even moved in with the McConaugheys and their children during the COVID-19 pandemic.