Matt Damon Reveals Wife Had Brain Aneurysm Before 2024 Oscars
Matt Damon is opening up about a frightening health scare in his family. The actor revealed that his wife, Luciana Barroso, suffered a brain aneurysm and underwent brain surgery just one week before the 2024 Academy Awards.
Damon shared the story in his Men of the Year cover interview with GQ, published Thursday, Nov. 5. "We had this whole scary thing happen where my wife had a brain aneurysm," he said. "She's totally fine, thank God, but [she] had this brain surgery the week before the Oscars," according to Fox News.
A Surprise Night Out
Despite her recent surgery, Barroso was determined to celebrate. The 2024 Oscars were a big night for Damon's film "Oppenheimer," which won seven awards, including best picture.
Damon said his wife "surprised me and got a dress and we went out to the after-party." He added that it "was the first night she felt good enough to get up and had her energy back," Good Morning America reported.
"It was pretty f---ing heroic of her to do that and really meaningful," Damon said.
Damon did not share further details about the aneurysm, including whether it had ruptured.
Making Up for a Missed Oscars
For Damon, the 2024 celebration was a chance to make up for a night he still regrets. In 2007, his film "The Departed" won four Oscars, including best picture, and Martin Scorsese won best director.
At the time, Damon was in Miami shooting second-unit scenes for "The Bourne Ultimatum" and watched the ceremony from bed with his wife and their baby. He said he was flooded with calls from the cast and studio executives afterward.
"I turned to Lucy, and I was like, 'S---, we should be there!'" Damon recalled. "I totally blew it."
So when "Oppenheimer" was up for the top prize years later, Barroso made sure they would not miss out again. "This time we're going out," she told him. The couple was photographed that night at the Vanity Fair Oscars party, with Barroso in a black outfit and Damon in a tux, TMZ reported.
"I have no right to expect anything like that to happen again," Damon said of being part of another best picture winner.
What Is a Brain Aneurysm?
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a brain aneurysm is a weakened, bulging area in the wall of an artery in the brain. Some cause no symptoms, while others can rupture and lead to bleeding, stroke, brain damage or death, Good Morning America noted.
Family First
Damon and Barroso met in 2003 at a bar in Miami, where he was filming "Stuck on You." She later recalled that he hid behind the bar to escape fans, and she let him stay as long as he helped out by pouring drinks. The couple married privately in Manhattan in 2005, according to AOL.
They share three daughters, and Damon also helped raise Barroso's daughter from a previous relationship.
In the GQ interview, Damon said the couple has traditionally tried to keep his work trips to about two weeks so he is not away from the family for too long. He spent three and a half weeks away at the start of filming Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," which he called a sacrifice for the family.
He also praised his longtime friend and collaborator Ben Affleck for turning down projects that would have kept him away from his children. "I just want to make good stuff and definitely keep working with Ben," Damon said.
Damon and Barroso were most recently photographed together at a Netflix event for "Animals" in Mexico City on Oct. 4.
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