Matt Damon says he’s been “really lucky” that his personal life has stayed out of the public eye throughout his career — unlike his best friend Ben Affleck.
“Especially when I look at my friends, his brother, I can’t imagine living under that kind of scrutiny,” Damon, 53, said during a “Radio Times” podcast interview earlier this month with Casey Affleck. “It’s been like that for 25 years. And we’ve had parallel careers in a lot of ways. I’m fortunate to have been kind of excused from that part.”
Damon said that when it comes to paparazzi, he’s only encountered photographers getting “a little updated shot” and leaving him alone.
“I do remember when [daughter] Stella was born. So, this would be 2010. I was walking the kids to school — we were living in New York — and I was pushing her in a stroller,” he recalled. “I think we had a double stroller, and I saw a photographer up ahead. I’d done this walk 200 days in a row, and I never had any problem.”
The actor confronted the photographer.
“I dropped the kids off, and I came out and I said, ‘Hey, can I talk to you for a second? What’s going on? Why are you here?’ And he goes, ‘No, no, you just had a baby, so we’re just updating the shot.’ That was it,” Damon shared.
Both Damon and Casey, 49, said that “things are different” now compared to when they were at the beginning of their careers.
Damon discussed his relationship with his wife, Luciana Barroso, specifically, and how no one really cared because he “fell in love with someone who was not in the business.”
Ben, 51, on the other hand, has been highly scrutinized for his past — and current — romances.
Currently, Ben is married to Jennifer Lopez, but questions about their relationship status have continued to rise since May when they hadn’t been spotted out together in months.
“They can’t get on the same page [and] have been discussing divorce as an option,” a source told Us Weekly in June. A separate insider confirmed the following month that the couple were looking to sell their shared home.
“They decided to list the house very recently, within the last week,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly. “They thought they could sell it off-market but made a game-time decision in order to put more eyes on the property. They are in a rush to sell it. Ben especially wants to be done with the house. He was never happy there.”
Affleck has since purchased a new home, Us confirmed late last month. In early August, a separate source told Us that Affleck is looking forward to this new chapter in his life and career.
“Ben needed new energy in his life,” the insider explained, noting that this new house is “more his speed.” The source added: “He’s in a better mindset and is pushing forward.”
