Matthew McConaughey has revealed some unconventional relationship advice in his new book Poems & Prayers, including the one small change in the bedroom he swore helped his marriage.
The actor, who has been married to Camila Alves for 13 years, encouraged couples to downsize their mattresses to help further connect.
In a poem entitled, The best thing you can / do for your / marriage, he wrote: “One way to surely / get ahead, / is get rid of that / king-size mattress, / and sleep in a / queen-size bed.”
In an accompanying interview with Fox News Digital, the Interstellar actor further explained how he believed king-size beds weren’t good for marriage.
“We have kids and we go to our friend’s house and he has one of these double king-size beds put together and all the kids sleep in the bed,” McConaughey told the publication. “The wife’s on one side with her side table and the husband’s on the other side and it’s great when you got all three kids, but all of a sudden the kids get too big. They’re out of the bed.”
“I wake up one morning … I’m looking over there and Camilla’s like a football field away man. Then you go to bed at night, like you want to snuggle up and … ‘Well, we’ve got to cover you up. Come about 12 feet and I’ll come 12 feet.'”
He added, “You’re like, man, this damn king-size bed is not good for the marriage, man. Get rid of that son of a b***h. So we got a queen size where we’re shoulder to shoulder. I’m telling you, it’s good for your marriage.”
The Dazed and Confused actor also went on to add that the downsizing move meant there was “no room” for any kids in the bed.
McConaughey and Alves, who wed in 2012, share three children, Levi, 17, Vida, 15, and Livingston, 12.
The couple shared another secret to their marriage in a joint 2024 interview.
The pair, who appeared on the Your Mama’s Kitchen podcast together, revealed their foolproof way to de-escalate any arguments.
“Go and get something sweet,” McConaughey explained. “A sweet food. It can de-escalate some things, even if it’s a nice piece of chocolate or some ice cream, it can de-escalate.”
As McConaughey continues his press tour for his new book, he also recalled the “year of hell” he spent in Australia after he finished high school.
During an appearance on the Diary of a CEO podcast, he admitted he chose Australia for a Rotary Exchange experience because “they speak English and Elle MacPherson’s there… 18-year-old thinking.”
The How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days star thought he would be living in Sydney but once he touched down in Australia, he was sent to live with a family in Warnervale, on the NSW central coast.
“I remember pulling up that gravel driveway with that host family. They were like: ‘Welcome to Australia, mate’. I was like, ‘All right. Not what I thought. But I can make this work’,” he explained.
