Matthew McConaughey says downsizing from a king-size bed to a queen-size bed helped his 13-year marriage to Camila Alves, a lesson he shares in his new book, Poems & Prayers. The Oscar-winning actor spoke with Fox News Digital about how small changes at home can strengthen a relationship, especially with children in the house.
In a published excerpt, McConaughey describes a scenario in which a larger bed created distance as their kids began to sleep in the same space. He says the shift to a queen-size bed encouraged closer contact, noting that when the kids are older and bigger, the couple benefits from proximity at night. "The best thing you can do for your marriage is get rid of that king-size mattress and sleep in a queen-size bed," he writes, elaborating that a smaller bed keeps partners shoulder to shoulder rather than spread apart.
McConaughey recounts waking up one morning to Camila seemingly a football field away, and the couple agreed that shrinking the bed could help maintain closeness. He stresses there is no room for kids in the bed, a reflection of balancing family life with time for one another.
Since tying the knot in 2012, McConaughey and Alves have relocated from California to Texas and started a family that includes Levi, Vida and Livingston. He emphasizes that parenting is a two-way street: while it’s essential to be a good mother and father, it’s equally important to protect time for the couple. He notes that demonstrating how to treat a partner can model healthy relationships for their children, saying, "one of the best examples you can give the kids of how to treat a woman or a man... is how you treat their mother and how the mother treats the father."
The couple has also pursued joint ventures beyond acting. In 2023, they launched Pantalones Organic Tequila, a brand known for cheeky campaign ads in which the pair appear in lighthearted, pants-off scenarios. McConaughey frames their business as a way to enjoy life together while keeping a sense of playfulness.
Poems & Prayers, the book from which the advice stems, blends love stories with reflections on faith, doubt, compassion and forgiveness. It draws on proverbs and themes from the Old Testament, while also offering intentions and words of affirmation intended to guide readers in personal and familial relationships. The work underscores McConaughey’s broader interest in family life, faith and the everyday acts that sustain long-term partnerships.
"You gotta make time for your own relationship, because it’s that example you set for your kids about how to treat the person they may one day partner with," McConaughey says in discussing the book’s message. His aim, he has said, is to share practical wisdom drawn from his own marriage and family experiences, not to present a single formula for all couples.
Poems & Prayers is available now. The book’s release comes as McConaughey continues to balance acting work with family life and his and Alves’s entrepreneurship. For readers seeking relationship-minded guidance grounded in real-life experience, the actor’s latest work offers a personal snapshot of the couple’s approach to intimacy, parenting and partnership.
