Matthew McConaughey is opening up about the relationships that came before his 13-year marriage to Camila Alves McConaughey. 

In the latest issue of his Lyrics of Livin’ newsletter, the 56-year-old actor reflected on the mindset he carried through years of dating before meeting his wife.

He wrote that he had “seriously dated some wonderful women” and stayed friends with many of them, but said those romances were ultimately “stops, not stays.” 

In his mid-thirties, he was then seeking a lifelong partner, a best friend, and the future mother of his children.

McConaughey dated several high-profile stars, including Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, and Penélope Cruz. He added that a vivid dream of being an 88-year-old bachelor with “many children but no wife” brought him to the realisation that what he wanted in the true sense was fatherhood.

McConaughey says he noted a shift once he stopped actively searching for “the one.” Three months later, he met Camila. 

“Twenty years later, she’s still the only woman I’ve ever wanted to take on a date, sleep with, or wake up next to,” he wrote. The pair married in 2012 and share three children.