NEED TO KNOW
- Hollywood star Matt Damon and Luciana Barosso tied the knot in December 2005.
- Sources say Matt’s busy career filming back-back movies The Odyssey and and Thasnagar has left little time for his wife and kids
- Luciana is said to be unhappy Matt prioritising his ambitions and career over their family.
Matt Damon insists a “very sturdy foundation” is the key to holding his and Luciana’s 20-year marriage together, but insiders say his ‘all work and no play’ attitude could end up cracking that rock-solid base wide open!
As the pressure piles up on Matt, there’s less and less quality time left for his wife, who isn’t hiding her unhappiness about it.
“Matt and Lucy are trying to find a balance in their lives at a time when a lot is being asked of him just on an acting level alone,” an insider tells New Idea.
“He almost killed himself making The Odyssey and after a not-very-long break, he’s flung himself into another massive production, the offbeat superhero movie Thasnagar, that he’s shooting right now.”
Such shoots have taken Matt, who turns 56 this week, away from his family’s East Coast home “for weeks on end”, and the uneven work-life balance is becoming a real sticking point for Luciana, 50, and their daughters Alexia, Isabella, Gia and Stella.
“She’s still running the household and looking after their kids while Matt is off working in Europe and California,” the source says.
“Matt likes to claim that Lucy makes all his big decisions for him, but these filming schedules have him making up for lost time and hastily putting together family vacations during his short breaks between jobs.”
The actor has made a big effort to include Lucy in his professional life for years, making her a partner at his and best mate Ben Affleck’s production company, Artists Equity. But even though the projects keep her busy, the collaboration doesn’t always solve the problem of Matt and Lucy not having enough romantic time together.
“While I was doing The Odyssey, she was producing the movie that Ben was directing [Animals] and so they have their own work-life and creative, professional relationship,” Matt said recently.
With such a decorated and still thriving Hollywood career, we hear Matt’s family also wonder why he feels he has to work so hard when he proved himself decades ago.
“Even he can see the foolishness of his own ambition, because he does pretty openly express guilt at how much time away from home he’s spending on these projects, especially over the last couple of years,” the source adds.
“He knows there’s a better, more sensible path, but why won’t he just take it?”
