Matt Damon is one of a handful of Hollywood actors who gave the regular girl (whom, for the record, he refers to as "civilians") a sliver of hope by marrying a woman outside of the celebrity stratosphere.
Matt met his wife, Luciana Barroso, when he was filming a movie in Miami. She was his bartender, the two got to talking, and the rest is history. They've been married for 15 years, and they're one of the few Hollywood couples who have mostly been left alone by the rumor mill.
That last fact seems to be changing. Recently, rumors about the couple's demise have begun to swirl. The reason? Matt's been spotted visiting bestie Ben Affleck quite a bit, which wouldn't be newsworthy if not for the fact that he hasn't worn his wedding ring during the last three visits there.
Now there are any number of reasons any married person might appear publicly not wearing their wedding ring. But there are some curious clues that something's up with the actor.
There have been a few troubling stories about Matt Damon that hint something is up with the 50-year-old actor. Now, 2020 was not the average year for anyone. Matt spent part of it in Ireland, shooting The Last Duel. With him were wife Luciana Barroso and their daughters.
The family hasn't been spotted together since the summer, but that's not altogether unusual. Luciana and the kids keep things low-key usually.
It was during the summer that a blind gossip item that was believed to be about Matt emerged online. It suggested its subject, an older Hollywood veteran, had liposuction after struggling to get their body into the shape it used to be in.
While it makes for salacious gossip, there's something bigger to note there. Matt's 50 now, and he may be feeling a bit midlife-crisis-y, and that's not even factoring in the 2020-ness of it all.
In early December, a source told the tabloid Star Magazine that Matt had begun drinking problematically. Addiction isn't anything to joke about, and it's important to note that no other outlets have elaborated on this story to date.
According to the magazine's source, "He's not putting himself in dangerous situations. He's just slumped on the couch, watching sports for hours, only getting up to head to the fridge for another cold one."
Allegedly, the unbecoming habit is starting to concern those around him.
"His wife, Luciana, and his friends can't understand why Matt needs a beer in his hand to unwind," the source continued.
"It's a 7-days-a-week situation."
Matt and Luciana celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary in December, but Matt further worried fans thanks to some paparazzi shots. The actor was seen visiting his best buddy, Ben Affleck, a week after his anniversary and was spotted without his wedding ring. Now again, there could be a lot of reasons why he wasn't wearing the ring, but a look back at previous paparazzi shots shows that aside from when he's on a film set, he's pretty much always wearing it.
Matt returned to see Ben after the new year. His January 5th visit showed no signs of his wedding ring, either. He was photographed leaving Ben's again on January 13, and again his ring was nowhere to be seen.
We also know that the wedding ring means a lot to Matt, so it's unlikely it was lost or anything like that. He talked about it in a 2017 Parade interview.
"My grandmother gave my mother her ring in her will. My grandfather didn't have a lot of money; they were kind of children of the Depression, and the ring he gave her had these tiny, tiny little diamonds in them. They weren’t quality diamonds; it was what he could afford. But the marriage lasted," he shared.
"They were married for over 60 years. It wasn't about the ring; it was about the marriage," he continued.
"So when I told my mother that I was marrying Lucy, she gave me that ring and there were these six little diamonds. We took three of them and we put them on the inside of my band, and then we took three and we put them on the inside of her band. So they're not visible, but we're hopefully carrying the best part of that union with us."
There's no official comment from Matt or Luciana on the rumors, but there are a few thoughts to consider. For one, if all you had to do to dispel rumors of your marriage being in trouble was to step out wearing your wedding ring, wouldn't you do that? Not that Matt or any other celebrity needs to explain themselves to the public, but with teenage daughters who undoubtedly spend some time online, it seems like the easiest way.
