Matt Damon Once Shared Why He Wasn’t Playing Daddy With His and Luciana Barroso’s Daughter
Having a family changed many things for Matt Damon, including his approach to doing films like the Bourne franchise. But his family started almost as soon as he started dating his wife Luciana Barroso. Barroso already had a child from a previous relationship at the time, which meant Damon had to become a father quickly.
Matt Damon once shared his initial approach to fatherhood
Damon and Barroso first met while she was working in a bar in Miami in 2003. Barroso shared they had instant chemistry with each other. The two seemed to get even closer after she revealed she had a daughter.
“We definitely had a connection right away. It was so easy to talk to each other [and] 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 4-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,'” she said in a 2018 interview with Vogue Australia.
Damon’s response to Barroso’s parental responsibilities only proved to the former bartender how compatible they were.
“Some guys might have been different; they might think it’s complicated, but for him, it wasn’t,” Barroso said. “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.”
Back when Damon and Barroso started dating, the actor confided what his initial relationship with Barroso’s daughter was like.
“Without talking too much about her, because she’s five and she didn’t sign up for this, what I could say is that I am definitely not playing daddy,” Damon once said according to Irish Examiner. “She’s got a great father, you know? The two of them split, but they’re great parents in their own right.”
Damon could also immediately relate to Barroso’s daughter considering that his parents divorced at an early age.
“My mother had a man in her life for 16 years and that guy was a very positive influence in my life without ever trying to be a father. So I have some experience of that kind of dynamic, and so far it seems to be going well,” he said.
How Luciana Barroso’s ex felt about Matt Damon as a stepfather
Barroso and Damon married in 2005. The couple has stayed together thanks to a secret that makes their marriage work. Since then, they’ve had three more daughters together. Speaking with Today, The Departed star described his role as a father to be a rewarding yet surprising experience.
“I never expected to be surrounded by girls. But it’s great. …You never know which way life’s going to take you,” Damon said. “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 my 2-year-old’s finger, and she knew it. If they can do that to us at 2 years old, when they’re fully grown we really don’t stand a chance.”
But over the years, Damon and Barroso have also been sharing parenting duties with Barroso’s ex, Arbello. In a rare interview Arbello did with Star (via Yahoo), he revealed that he’s still very much in his daughter’s life. However, he couldn’t have been happier that his daughter has someone like Damon as an extra dad.
“I couldn’t possibly have asked for a better stepfather for my daughter than Matt,” he said. “He treats Alexia like she is his own flesh and blood.”
Arbello emphasized that they all had a great relationship. There are no negative stories to tell about the Barroso-Damon clan.
“People have been hunting me down for years, offering me money and looking for a story. But I could be living in a tent, and I still wouldn’t sell them out. There is no story. Matt is a fantastic stepfather, and Luciana is a terrific mom,” he said.
