Matthew McConaughey Found Joy in God & Lived in Trailer after Making Millions — Inside His Modest Life as a Christian

• Matthew McConaughey found joy in God.

• He lived in a trailer despite his million-dollar net worth.

• Matthew likes to spend time on a ranch and focus on family.

Film actor Matthew McConaughey was born into a toxic household that later affected his adult life. He experienced a tough childhood because his parents struggled to co-exist.

The couple, James McConaughey and Mary McCabe were in an abusive relationship that heavily affected their three children. The pair divorced each other twice only to remarry three times, said their youngest son, Matthew.

"I am the youngest brother of three and the son of parents who were twice divorced and thrice married to each other," he wrote in his 2020 memoir, "Greenlights."

Having grown up in an abusive environment, Matthew recounted when he witnessed his mother and father constantly fighting each other.

Moreover, James acted cold toward Mary when she was pregnant with the couple's third child. According to Matthew, his father doubted that he was his biological son and intentionally missed his birth by choosing to go to a bar instead of the hospital:

"My dad wasn't there the day I was born. He called my mom and said, 'Only thing I have to say is if it's a boy, don't name him Kelly.'"

On top of being raised in a destructive household, young Matthew experienced abuse at the hands of his parents. He revealed they punished him when he got up to mischief.

Matthew later expressed regret for how he reacted to getting struck by his father because he saw that as an opportunity to make him see him with a different set of eyes:

"I've often regretted what I did —or didn't do—that night. I had my chance at my rite of passage—to become his boy or man in his eyes—but I got stage fright, pissed my pants, and failed the test. I choked."

Such traumatizing acts have haunted Matthew all his life, but not in a way that is expected. He perceived his volatile relationship with his father as a means to win him over and become the man he wanted him to be. However, that idea terrified him.

When James laid his hand on his son, he did not retaliate and forfeited his respect. That changed several years later when Matthew beat up a bouncer, and finally, he earned James's approval:

"It was the night I became his boy, a man in his eyes."

Matthew grew up to be one of Hollywood's prolific stars, with an alleged net worth of $95 million by 2020. The Texas native rose to fame in 1993 when he starred in the coming-of-age movie, "Dazed and Confused."

To date, his most profitable films include "Sing," "Interstellar," "Tropic Thunder," and "The Wolf of Wall Street." He surprisingly turned down a $15 million-dollar deal on "Magnum P.I." to star in small films such as "Dallas Buyers Club," for which he earned under $200,000. Still, Matthew received backend points for the movie's profit.

The film made about $60 million, surpassing its $5 million budget, and he bagged his first Academy Award for Best Actor because of the project.

Today, the A-lister enjoys living a normal life and, at times, spends his time on a ranch in Texas. When asked what inspired him to create Longbranch Ranch and why he partnered with Walden Retreats, Matthew said in November 2022:

"Walden's got a nice place out there. It's engineered for you to go out and engage in nature. I think that's important. I think everyone works harder now to try and find time out. Find time to check out so they can check in."

Asked what he loved about this part of his hometown and what he admired about it, he stated: "Well, that you still get your horizons." Matthew added there is plenty of fields to go hiking, "a lot of aquifers, a lot of fresh spring water around there. The wildlife is great." Moreover, "The Gentleman" star revealed that his wife, Camila Alves, also loves the clouds there.

Matthew and Alves have been married since 2012 and are parents to three kids; Levi, Livingston, and Vida. The father of three spoke fondly about being a parent in October 2020 and revealed fatherhood had been his lifelong intent:

"The only thing I ever knew I wanted to be was a father. And it's remained the pinnacle for me. Being a dad was always my only dream. I can't think of anything being more important."

The doting parent expressed his wish for his sons and daughter to grow up "conscientious, confident, and autonomous."

"All three are very, very caring and kind individuals," Matthew said and proudly added that wholeheartedly, his children know they are loved at home.

In December 2021, the family man revealed the secret to his 11-year marriage with the mother of his kids when asked how he maintains peace in their household:

"Don’t make a straight line crooked. If things are going well, keep catching green lights. If they’re not, deal with them soon so they don’t bubble up and get you later."

Finding Joy in God

Besides finding happiness in having a family, Matthew is also a Christian. "I'm a believer. I believe in God," he affirmed. Although the producer has established his faith, he has yet to figure out his purpose in life.

"God's laying out the highways, but we each have our hand on the wheel. I look at Earth. I look at the little dot that we are on the planet. The world's turning. And we're that little individual on the planet. That smallness can make you go, 'Oh my gosh. I'm nothing. None of what I do matters," Mattew expressed.

He reflected on how his book "Greenlights" came to be. As a child, he had written diaries that he intended to compile into a book many times but failed to get a ghostwriter.

Fortunately, his wife encouraged him to pack the diaries in a pickup truck and set off to the desert to get inspiration to write the book himself, which he did.

"It ended up being the best time I've ever had in my life with myself," Matthew said of the experience. He had had a preconceived notion that he would be "embarrassed about" things he used to do but, instead, found himself laughing about it. "All the things I thought I would be so shameful about, I was like, 'Oh, I forgive you for that.'"

The "True Detective" star admitted that he is always the last person he forgives and has always had difficulty with self-forgiveness.

When he won his first Oscar Award, he mentioned his faith in his speech and uttered: "First off, I want to thank God because that's who I look up to."

Living in a Trailer

Apart from being a man of faith, Matthew lived an exciting life before. He lived in an R.V. for four years, and it became his home, his office, and his vacation spot.

The "Serenity" star first bought the Airstream in 2004 and traveled in it across the country before he purchased a house. He divulged in 2008 that he always "loved driving" and does it to get some alone time.

Matthew added that driving also allows him to catch up on some of the latest music and that, in addition, it is one of "the best ways to see the country."

He revealed that in 1996 he bought "a big GMC van – it's called Cosmo – and gutted it and put it in a bed in the back, a refrigerator, and a VCR so I could watch dailies or whatever." However, it later turned out to be no longer suitable for him, and then began eyeing Airstreams.