Matthew McConaughey Opens About His 8-Year Estrangement From His Mother
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Matthew McConaughey has a special, but complicated relationship with his mom, Kay McConaughey, which he details in his memoir Greenlights.
In a new interview, they shared how his fame distanced them for nearly a decade.
Kay was smitten with her son’s stardom, and prioritized it over their relationship.
Matthew McConaughey has a special, but complicated relationship with his mom, Kay McConaughey, which he details in his new memoir Greenlights. And in a Nov. 17 Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield Norris, they shared how his fame distanced them for nearly a decade.
It all started in the mid ‘90s when McConaughey got his first big role in film. “As soon as I got ‘famous’ after A Time to Kill I started to have my weekly Sunday call home to call my mother,” he explained. “[But] Mother wasn’t answering the phone. A fan of my fame was answering the phone.”
Kay was smitten with her son’s stardom, and began prioritizing it over their relationship—she even went as far as leaking his personal information to the media. “I was trying to find my own balance with fame and stuff. And I would share things with her,” Matthew said. “Some of those things I would share might show up in the six o’clock news three days later.”
Still, he wanted to remain in touch with his mom, but had to draw the line when he learned that she invited Hard Copy, a tabloid TV news show, into his childhood home. She showed the cameras his bedroom and told stories about his dating and sex life. A friend of Matthew’s tipped him off about its airing.
“I call her up and, of course, she’s watching it too, so she picks up the phone, and I hear the same damn show in the background!” he laughed. Admittedly, Kay was caught in the act. “[She said], ‘I didn’t think you’d find out,” Matthew quipped.
With that, the Oscar winner was forced to curb communication with Kay for his own privacy and safety. “There were years there where I would not share things with her because I was, you know, again, finding my own balance,” he said. “I was like, ‘Look, mom, loose lips will sink ships. There are a lot of people that would like to know these things and it’s none of their business.’” He added that he “was not able to talk to her as my mom for about eight years” and Kay admitted that she was “enjoying his fame more than he was.”
In 2004, after Matthew established his career in Hollywood, the actor felt comfortable letting his guard down again. “My boat was built well enough where I didn’t feel like she could sink it. I just took the reins off, and said, ‘Mom, hit that red carpet, talk to all of 'em, and tell them all the stories you want,’” he said. “And she’s been great about it ever since.”
Now, the pair have a solid mother-son relationship, which is good because Kay, 88, is currently quarantined at Matthew’s family home with his wife and kids. “It’s been really, really lovely,” she said of her extended stay. “I’m enjoying so much being around my grandchildren. I’m very comfortable with them. Matthew is a very good son. I tell him that all the time. He’s good to me.”
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