When Matt Damon looks back on the movie that launched his career, he now knows it made a strong impression on his future wife for a reason he did not exactly anticipate.
Long before Luciana Barroso ever met Damon in person, she had already formed an opinion after seeing 'Good Will Hunting' in theaters. As Damon recently revealed, she thought his best friend and co-star Ben Affleck was more attractive.
The confession surfaced during Damon and Affleck’s joint appearance on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show on January 12, where the longtime collaborators were promoting their new Netflix film 'The Rip.' What began as a casual question from Stern about the night Damon met Barroso quickly turned into a story that has clearly lived rent-free in Damon’s head for decades.
“This is f---ing completely true,” Damon said, before setting the scene. He explained that the revelation came a few months into their relationship, after he met Barroso’s best friend from high school.
During the conversation, the two women reminisced about seeing 'Good Will Hunting' together back in 1997, years before Damon and Barroso crossed paths.
“Her best friend thought I was the cute one and she thought Ben was the cute one,” Damon recalled. The admission caught him off guard. “So she admitted to me… I’m like ‘You got the wrong one?’” he added. “She told me that 23 years ago.”
Affleck, who was sitting beside Damon during the interview, seemed thoroughly amused by the story, especially given how intertwined their lives remain.
While he was not present the night Damon met Barroso in Miami in 2003, Affleck noted that the three of them now work closely together. Barroso is a producer on 'The Rip' and also on Affleck’s upcoming directorial project, 'Animals.'
“She’s a great producer and a really good friend and yeah, I never got that vibe from her,” Affleck joked, drawing laughter from both Damon and Stern. “So I think something I did in real life rubbed it off.” “Finally she met him and all that went away,” Damon chimed in.
Damon and Barroso met while he was filming 'Stuck on You' in Miami, a full six years after 'Good Will Hunting' made Damon and Affleck overnight stars and Oscar winners. They married in December 2005 and have since built a family together, sharing four daughters: Alexia, 25, Isabella, 19, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15.
During the same Stern appearance, Damon reflected on how vividly he remembers meeting his wife, even if some of the surrounding details remain fuzzy. He revealed that script supervisor Steve Gehrke, who later worked on 'The Rip' and several of Damon’s films with Christopher Nolan, was with him the night he met Barroso, a fact he only realized years later.
“I couldn’t remember who I was with ’cause all I remembered was her,” Damon said.
Affleck could not resist poking fun at the romantic recollection. “He knows why he’s a good husband because he’s like ‘all I can see was her,’ and I’m like ‘But also, you were hammered, and it’s a little vague,’” Affleck teased. “But he’s smart enough not to say that.”
Beyond the jokes, Affleck spoke warmly about witnessing Damon and Barroso’s relationship evolve over the years. “It’s a really gorgeous marriage and friendship and two people who when they’re apart and independent of one another are one another’s partner,” he said. Although he missed the first day of their story, he added, “I didn’t see the first day but I have a feeling it’s improved.”
Affleck later joked that he should ask Barroso for her friend’s phone number to complete the long running crush saga. Damon quickly shut that down. “She’s married,” he said. Affleck shrugged off the rejection with a laugh. “I just thought it was a funny joke. I can’t resist. Story of my life.”
The playful exchange underscored the dynamic that has defined Damon and Affleck’s friendship for nearly three decades. The two grew up together in Cambridge, Massachusetts, wrote 'Good Will Hunting' in their twenties, and have navigated fame side by side ever since.
During the interview, Damon also touched on standing by Affleck through more difficult chapters, including addiction and two divorces. “Our relationship isn’t affected by what people are saying,” Damon said. “I was there for all of it.” Affleck responded emotionally, telling his friend, “That means a lot to me. That’s sort of what a real friend is.”
As for Barroso, she has previously brushed aside the trappings of Hollywood when speaking about her connection with Damon. “When you meet somebody that you have a connection with, that’s just the person that you have a connection with,” she once said. “All the other stuff wasn’t really a factor. It was just Matt.”