Yahoo Lifestyle Matt Damon Was Asked How He Reacts When His Daughters “Bring A Boy Home,” And His Response Was Perfect
Matt Damon has shared his best tips for fellow "girl dads."
As you may already know, Matt and his wife Luciana share three daughters: Isabella, 18, Gia, 15, and Stella, 13. Matt is also stepdad to Alexia, Luciana’s 26-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, who was 4 years old when he and Luciana met.
Matt and Luciana tend to keep their personal lives pretty private. However, the couple and their four kids stepped out for the New York premiere of The Instigators on Wednesday, marking a rare public outing as a family of six.
If you’ve seen much about the movie — which releases globally on Aug. 9 — you’ll know it’s quite a family affair. The Instigators stars Matt with his longtime friend and collaborator, Casey Affleck, and it was produced by Luciana and Ben Affleck — Casey’s brother and Matt’s best friend.
In light of this, family has been a big topic of discussion on the film’s press tour. And in a new interview with Andy Cohen on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, the host asked Matt to share his “best advice for being a girl dad.”
Matt was initially reluctant to answer but talked about the importance of helping girls build their self-esteem from a young age so that they can have the confidence to make good decisions in life.
“I wouldn’t dare to give anybody advice other than I just try to listen and be helpful. I mean, ultimately, it’s about building self-esteem,” he said, prompting Andy’s agreement, calling high self-esteem “the most important thing” for girls.
“You know, 99% of the decisions they make, you’re not gonna be there, right?” Matt added.
After this, Andy quizzed Matt on dating — a common topic of conversation for many parents with kids entering adulthood. Interestingly, though, the Oscar winner quickly challenged the narrative that girl dads are overly protective or aggressive when it comes to their daughters’ personal lives.
“What kind of dad are you when they bring a boy home… You don’t turn all Boston?” Andy asked the Massachusetts native, who replied: “Oh, I’m fine. I’m cool with that.”
“That’s like an old trope that I think people, you know, like to play up,” Matt said of the overly protective dad stereotype. “Dads like to joke about it amongst each other I think sometimes, but no.”
“Our 26-year-old has, you know, she’s got this incredible boyfriend who Lucy and I just love,” he said, presumably referring to Alexia. “We adore the guy and to see that she’s making those kinds of choices, really, it’s as good as it gets.”
Amid the #MeToo Movement, Matt talked about the importance of raising empowered daughters, telling Today in 2018: “They’re very clear that their bodies are their own and no one is allowed to touch them. We’re just trying to raise good kids.”
“It’s about trying to raise kids who are respectful of themselves and others,” he added.
You can find the full clip from SiriusXM’s Radio Andy here.
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