Third Time’s the Charm: Matthew McConaughey Had to Fight Hard to Conquer the Heart of the Love of His Life

When two celebrities become a couple, many speculations arise. How did they meet? Will they last? Will they start a family? Some are together only for a short time, but others establish solid relationships that put them under the spotlight and arouse the admiration of those around them. This is the case of Camila Alves and Matthew McConaughey, who met 16 years ago and are still together, writing a beautiful love story that began with several rejections on her part.

He was dazzled at first sight.

In 2006, a year after People magazine deemed Matthew the most attractive man in the world, the Oscar winner went with friends — including Lance Armstrong — to a bar in Los Angeles.

“She showed up, and she moved right to left in front of my eyes across that club. It was as if she was floating. And I did not say, ’Who is that?’ I said, ’What is that?’ And then introduced myself. Since that evening, I have not wanted to spend time with any other woman.”

She did not react in the same way.

Model and designer Camila Alves assures that things were different. “We had two interactions at the bar. The first interaction, I did not know who he was... He was all covered up, and I didn’t really realize who he was.”

And that’s when Lance saved the night, as he helped them clear things up.

The relationship took some time to develop.

“That night, I spoke 25 minutes of the best Spanish I’ve ever spoken in my life,” Matthew commented during a radio interview. “She spoke Portuguese. I don’t think I ever understood Portuguese as well as I did that night. I was focused and it worked.” Later, they continued the party at Matthew’s house.

However, Camila told Matthew that she had to leave: “And now she’s like, ‘OK, I’m gonna go. I’m gonna get a cab.’ And I’m like, ‘Don’t do that. It’s way too late. Take the guest bedroom.’”

She stood her ground.

Matthew said that during that night, she refused to even give him a kiss. The next day, when he woke up, he found Camila having breakfast with the house staff and his friends, “as if she had known them for 10 years. That’s a woman who knows who she is.”

Although Matthew asked her out that same day, she declined the invitation because it was her dad’s birthday. Matthew didn’t give up and asked her out on two more occasions, but she again declined. It wasn’t until the next time he invited her to his house and cooked her dinner that he won her heart.

How their love story begins

“The children came before the marriage,” Matthew assured. After two years of dating, in 2008, they had their first child, Levi. In 2010, they welcomed their daughter, Vida, and in 2011, they decided to design their own home in Malibu.

“I used to have a big house in the Hollywood Hills, in which I designed the surroundings and did the details of everything. But that house was mine. And we could have gone there, Camila would have said, ’Okay, don’t change anything,’ but I thought, ’I finally found the woman I want to be with, but she should have half of everything.’”

The need to get married

For a long time, marriage was not part of the plan. But one day, Levi asked them why his mom didn’t have his father’s last name. “Good question... I do want to marry Momma. I just don’t feel the need to. If I marry Momma, I wanna feel like I need to. I don’t wanna do it because that’s what we’re supposed to do or because I merely want to. I wanna do it when that’s what I need to do.”

In 2012, they took the next step, and later that year, they also welcomed their third child, Livingston.

A love story that is written every day.

After 16 years together, Matthew and Camila can boast of being one of the most solid couples in the show business. “My wife doesn’t want to kick me out,” the actor jokingly commented in an interview. But the secret of their bond lies in seeing how things are going: “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.”

If you were given the opportunity to write your own perfect love story, what would it be like? Or if you already have one, how did it start?