Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey used the publicity tour for his new book Poems and Prayers to share what he called unusual marital advice: trade a king-size mattress for a queen. “A sure way to get ahead is to get rid of that king-size mattress and sleep in a queen-size bed,” said McConaughey, according to a report by the Economic Times.
He explained that he first sensed trouble when he woke in his large Austin bedroom and found his wife, Brazilian model and designer Camila Alves, “a football field away.” The couple, who marked their 13th wedding anniversary on 9 June, felt that physical distance encouraged emotional drift.
Married in a Catholic ceremony in Austin in 2012, they have three children—Levi, Vida, and Livingston. Family life originally led them to choose the oversized bed. “We have kids and go to a friend’s house. They have a king-size double bed, and all the kids sleep in it,” said McConaughey, according to Marca. As the children grew, the arrangement lost its appeal. “Then you go to bed at night, wanting to cuddle, and… ‘Move over about three and a half meters and I’ll do the same,’” he joked.
A visit to a mattress store resolved the issue. “Now we touch shoulder to shoulder, and it does good for the marriage,” said McConaughey, adding that the smaller mattress also discourages late-night visits from their children.
Poems and Prayers includes a passage on the lesson, arguing that scaling down sleep space can increase togetherness. “The best thing you can do for your marriage is reduce the size of the mattress,” McConaughey told an interviewer. He acknowledged that the idea may seem counterintuitive in a culture that equates bigger with better, yet insisted, “a bigger bed, maybe it wasn’t good for the marriage, man.”
The couple also share lighter advice. On the 2024 podcast Your Mama’s Kitchen, Alves urged, “Go and buy something sweet,” while McConaughey added, “A piece of chocolate or an ice cream can calm the tension,” according to Marca.
Their rapport appeared strong at the recent Toronto International Film Festival premiere of School Bus, where they walked the red carpet with their eldest son Levi and McConaughey’s mother, Mary Kathleen McCabe. Observers noted that Levi, who acted alongside his father in The Lost Bus and Way of the Warrior Kid, seemed comfortable in the spotlight.
McConaughey and Alves met in 2006 and became engaged on 25 December 2011. Reflecting on their years together, McConaughey said that small environmental tweaks—such as a narrower bed—helped keep them close, an assessment Alves affirmed.
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