Matthew McConaughey says his mother was ‘looking out for him’ when she ‘tested’ his wife Camila Alves

Matthew McConaughey has once again come to his mother’s defence, claiming that she was just “looking out for him” by testing his now-wife, Camila Alves McConaughey.

The actor, 53, spoke candidly about his relationship with his mother, Mary Kathleen “Kay” McCabe, during a recent episode of Jana Kramer’s Whine Down podcast. His comments come weeks after he first defended his mother, as Camila previously revealed that when she first started dating Matthew, McCabe would test her in different ways, such as by calling the model by the names of her son’s exes.

Speaking to Kramer, Matthew went on to describe his family’s sense of humour, while recalling some of the responses he received after Camila made the comments about his mother.

“My family, and part of Camila and I as well, we cherish the value of a sense of humour and comedy,” he said. “I mean the stuff she said about my mom calling her a different name, that right of passage, that initiation – some people were like: ‘Oh my gosh.’”

However, according to the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days star, Camila didn’t have an issue with McCabe’s test.

“Camila wasn’t wounded about it either, it’s funny,” he said. “I mean we say this all the time in my family: ‘What tickles us may bruise others.’”

He also added that he wasn’t upset with his mother for her behaviour either, before sharing what the biggest takeaway was from McCabe’s tests on Camila.

“She was looking out for her youngest,” he said, as the actor has two older brothers. “She didn’t know my feelings, but she tested my feelings and tested the woman I had feelings for. Big picture, that’s pretty cool, actually.”

Matthew also praised Camila for standing up for herself to his mother, due to the ways she was treated at the start of the relationship.

“The woman that I was in love with went right through, and when she went through it and stood up and said: ‘Hey, Ms McConaughey, let me tell you something,’ My mom went: ‘There we go,’” he recalled.

During her appearance on Southern Living’s Biscuits and Jam podcast in August, Camila first revealed how things were a little tense between her and McCabe at the beginning of her relationship with the actor.

“She did all these things when I first came in the picture, right? She was really testing me. I mean, really testing me,” Camila recalled. “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. I mean, all kinds of stuff.”

According to Camila, after McCabe shared “these stories and putting all these things in [her] head”, the model was then encouraged to bring out “[her] spicy Brazilian, Latin side” and “let [her]” mother-in-law “have it”.

“So I went back at her, and we had it back and forth, back and forth. And then at the end, she just looked at me and she was like: ‘Okay. Now you’re in,’” she said, before acknowledging that she then realised that McCabe wanted her to “fight back,” which ultimately improved their bond going forward. Camila also acknowledged that she and her mother-in-law have the “best relationship” now, and have “so much respect” for each other.

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight in September, Matthew first confirmed that his mother previously tested Camila, before explaining why McCabe did so in the first place “My family is big on rites of passage and initiation, and you don’t get into the McConaughey family easily,” he said.

Matthew also detailed that his entire family has “tested” each other’s partners at the beginning of their relationships. However, according to the Interstellar star, once the “initiation” is over, he and his family are very welcoming towards the new people in their lives.

“Even in our own family with my brothers and mother is one of us. Me and my brothers get on our high horse about something,” he said. “Oh, my family, we humbly wait, we make you cry, and then we pick you up and make your favourite drink: ‘You’re welcome back.’ So there are initiations, rites of passage that my family’s always enjoyed.”

Camila and Matthew first started dating in 2006, before getting married in a three-day celebration at their home in Austin, Texas, on 9 June 2012. Their children, Levi, 15, and Vida, 13, participated in the ceremony as ring bearer and flower girl. They went on to welcome their third child, Livingston, at the end of 2012.