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16 Jan 2026 16:57
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  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Matt Damon's wife thought Ben Affleck was "the cute one" in Good Will Hunting long before the couple met

    Actor Matt, 55, and Luciana, 49, met in a bar in Miami, Florida, in 2003, and months into their relationship, he was introduced to her best friend, and Matt learned that Luciana's pal eyed him, and his spouse was attracted to 53-year-old actor Ben.


    Appearing on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show on Monday (12.01.26), Matt - who popped the question to Luciana shortly before Labor Day in September 2005 - recalled: "This is f****** completely true.

    "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?' She told me that 23 years ago."

    Matt said the idea of Luciana - who produces his and Ben's new movie, The Rip - once thinking that Ben was "cute" did not stay with him.

    Ben said: "She's a great producer and a really good friend, and yeah, I never got that vibe from her. So I think something I did in real life rubbed it off."

    Matt - who married Luciana during a private ceremony in Manhattan, New York, in December 2005 - added: "Finally, she met him and all that went away."

    In the pair's interview on The Howard Stern Show, Ben also shared that he has "been witness to a lot of beautiful, lovely things" from Matt and Luciana.

    Ben - who was married to 53-year-old actress Jennifer Garner from 2005 until they split in 2015, with their divorce finalised in 2018 - added: "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.

    "I didn't see the first day, but I have a feeling it's improved."

    As Matt and Ben's segment came to a close, Ben - who was hitched to 56-year-old singer Jennifer Lopez in 2022, but split in 2024, with their divorce finalised in 2025 - joked that he "should ask Lucy what her friend's number is" to bring the situation full circle.

    But Matt - who has daughters, Alexia, 25, Isabella, 19, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15, with Luciana, and is also stepdad to Alexia, 27, with whom Luciana has with her ex-husband, Arbello Barroso - pointed out: "She's married."

    Ben added: "I just thought it was a funny joke - I can't resist. Story of my life."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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