Matthew McConaughey Says Mother's Controversial Treatment of Wife Camila Alves Was an 'Initiation'

Matthew McConaughey says his mother's controversial initiation tactics with his wife, Camila Alves-McConaughey, are a rite of passage.

The 53-year-old actor spoke out about Camila's recent interview, where she discussed the way his mother, Kay McConaughey (a.k.a Ma Mac), treated her when they first started dating in 2006.

"She did all these things when I first came in the picture," Camila said to Southern Living's Biscuits & Jam podcast last month. "She was really testing me. I mean, really testing me. 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 down a bit. I mean, all kinds of stuff."

Matthew confirmed his wife's story, telling ET Canada, "My family is big on rites of passage and initiation, and you don’t get into the McConaughey family easily."

The father of three added of his family, "We test you. And 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. Oh, my family, we humbly wait, we make you cry, and then we pick you up and make your favorite drink, 'You’re welcome back.' So there are initiations, rites of passage that my family’s always enjoyed."

As for how Camila finally broke his mother's mean streak, the Oscar-winning actor said, "Camila goes, 'I’m not asking your permission anymore.' And basically, my mom was like, 'There we go. That’s right.'"

Matthew and Camila tied the knot in 2012 and now share three kids — Levi, 15, Vida, 13, and Livingston, 10. But the actor isn't sure that they'll use the same tactics on their children.

"We’ll see. We’re just coming on the beginning of this stuff. You know what I mean?" he said. "Talk to me in about three years, and I’ll have a better answer for… navigating is not going to be perfect, but I think we’ll work it out."

Earlier this month, ET spoke with Camila about her confession regarding her mother-in-law.

"Oh, she loves it! Ma Mac loves the limelight. She wants to be in the light," Camila said of Ma Mac's reaction to the story going public. "She loves it. And it's a true story. I wasn't making it up. I wasn't exaggerating. It's a real story. Things like that do happen. And I think the most important thing is not to be stuck on the story, but the fact that we got past it."

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