Matt Damon Reveals Wife Luciana Initially Found Ben Affleck More Attractive After Watching Good Will Hunting

Actor shares humorous anecdote about wife’s first impression of his longtime collaborator during promotional interview

Key Highlights:

• Luciana Damon admitted years ago she thought Ben Affleck was “the cute one” in Good Will Hunting
• Couple met seven years after film’s release and have been married since 2005
• Luciana now works as producer alongside both actors on recent projects

Candid Confession from Early Relationship

During a January 12th appearance on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show promoting their new Netflix film The Rip, 55-year-old Matt Damon shared an amusing revelation about his wife Luciana’s initial impressions when she watched Good Will Hunting in theaters—years before the couple ever met.

“This is absolutely true,” Matt prefaced the story, after host Howard Stern asked whether Affleck was present when Matt and Luciana, 49, first met in 2003. “After we’d been together for a little while, probably a few months, she admitted that—I think I met her best friend from high school and it came out that the two of them went and saw Good Will Hunting together and her best friend thought I was the cute one and she thought Ben was the cute one.”

“So she admitted to me… I’m like ‘You got the wrong one?'” Matt added. “She told me that 23 years ago.”

Affleck’s Humorous Response

When Stern, 72, asked Matt whether the idea that Luciana once found Affleck attractive “stays with you,” the 53-year-old Air director interjected to note that he, Matt and Luciana now work together professionally: she’s a producer on both The Rip and Animals, Affleck’s upcoming directorial project.

“She’s a great producer and a really good friend and yeah, I never got that vibe from her,” Affleck jested, eliciting laughter from 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 added.

Relationship Timeline

Matt and Luciana, who married in December 2005, met in Miami in 2003 while Matt was filming the movie Stuck on You. The couple share four daughters—Alexia, 25, Isabella, 19, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15.

The Night They Met

During the SiriusXM interview, Matt also recalled that Stuck on You script supervisor Steve Gehrke, who also worked on The Rip and Matt’s two films with filmmaker Christopher Nolan, was with him the night he and Luciana met—something he only realized years afterward.

“I couldn’t remember who I was with ’cause all I remembered was her,” he said.

“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 jested. “But he’s smart enough not to say that.”

Affleck’s Perspective on Their Marriage

While Affleck was not present the first night Matt and Luciana met, he noted he has “been witness to a lot of beautiful lovely things from both of them along the way.”

“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. “I didn’t see the first day but I have a feeling it’s improved.”

Playful Closing Joke

Affleck also joked as the segment wrapped that he “should ask Lucy what her friend’s number is” to bring the entanglement full circle.

“She’s married,” Damon responded.

“I just thought it was a funny joke—I can’t resist,” Affleck added. “Story of my life.”

Professional Collaboration

The anecdote highlights the close-knit professional and personal relationships between the longtime collaborators. Luciana’s evolution from a fan who preferred Affleck’s looks in Good Will Hunting to becoming a producing partner on projects featuring both actors demonstrates the intertwined nature of their professional and personal lives.

Good Will Hunting Legacy

The 1997 film Good Will Hunting, written by Damon and Affleck, launched both actors’ careers to new heights and earned them an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The movie remains a cultural touchstone and apparently made enough impression on Luciana that she remembered her initial reactions to both leading men years later when she met Matt in person.

Current Project

Damon and Affleck’s new movie The Rip began streaming on Netflix January 16th, continuing their decades-long collaboration that began with Good Will Hunting and has now expanded to include Luciana as a producer on their recent projects.

Friendship and Marriage

The comfortable banter between the three—Matt, Ben, and Luciana—during the interview reflects the genuine friendship that has developed over the years. Affleck’s warm description of the Damons’ marriage and his presence as a witness to their relationship’s growth demonstrates how their professional partnership has deepened into a lasting personal connection extending beyond just the two actors.

The lighthearted revelation that Luciana initially preferred Affleck’s appearance adds a humanizing touch to the celebrity couple’s origin story, showing that even Hollywood marriages can begin with unexpected twists—and that a good sense of humor about those early impressions can contribute to a lasting partnership now approaching two decades of marriage.