When Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves fell in love, his mother set her a controversial test.

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves have been together for 17 years, share three children and appear to be one of Hollywood's most supportive, low-key couples.

McConaughey and Alves, a Brazilian-born model and designer, met at the West Hollywood nightclub Hyde in 2006, and there was an instant connection. 

"She showed up, and she moved right to left in front of my eyes across that club," the 53-year-old actor told People in 2020. "It was as if she was floating. And I did not say, 'Who is that?' I said, 'What is that?' And then introduced myself. Since that evening, I have not wanted to spend time with any other woman... We have a love that we never question."

Three nights later, they had their first official date and have been practically inseparable ever since.

But while that all sounds like a fairytale beginning, it wasn't all smooth sailing: mostly because of McConaughey's mother, Kay.

On Southern Living's Biscuits & Jam podcast, Alves, 41, said Kay was not initially welcoming of her.

"She did all these things when I first came in the picture, right? And she was really testing me. I mean, really testing me," Alves recalled. "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."

Alves said things changed for the better after she invited Kay on a work trip to Istanbul. Tensions escalated as Kay told "all these stories and putting all these things in [her] head", and led to a fight.

"So I just flip it on her and brought my spicy Brazilian, Latin side, and I let her have it," Alves said. "So I went back at her, and we had it back and forth, back and forth. And then at the end, she just looked at me and she was like, 'okay, now you're in.'"

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A post shared by Camila Alves McConaughey (@camilamcconaughey)

Now, Alves and her 91-year-old mother-in-law are very close and regularly share photos together.

"From that day on, that night on, we have the most amazing relationship, and I have so much respect for her. She has so much respect for me. I mean, it can get tricky sometimes, you know? But we always end with a good laugh and a joke."

In fact, Alves said her husband is a lot like his mother, rather than his 'laid-back, stoner' persona.

"When we first start dating, it was this image of Matthew of getting high, laid back, no shirt, whatever. The guy doesn't even smoke. What is this vision coming from?

"He's like his mum. She's very organised, very minimalistic, very on time, very prepared, and he gets a lot of those traits from her."

Alves and McConaughey married in 2012 and have three children: sons Levi, 15, and Livingston, 10, and daughter Vida, 13.

Feature image: Getty.

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