Actor Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves are often looked at as a Hollywood “it” couple, having been together for nearly 20 years. But marriage hadn’t always been in the cards for the pair, as McConaughey recently revealed on an episode of “This Past Weekend with Theo Von.” The couple first met in 2006 at a West Hollywood nightclub. “She showed up, and she moved right to left in front of my eyes across that club. It was as if she was floating. And I did not say, ‘Who is that?’ I said, ‘What is that?’ And then introduced myself. Since that evening, I have not wanted to spend time with any other woman,” McConaughey told People. The couple met just when McConaughey thought his time was winding down. “I mean, the clock was ticking — I was about to be 40 and my plan was to be married and have kids by that age. But I didn’t want to play the game of starting to feel anxious because, with too much anxiety, you can’t find a mate. And then you make a hasty decision.”

By 2007, the couple had confirmed their relationship. Speaking to Von, marriage wasn’t yet on the table. “Maybe that’s because my mom and dad were married three times and divorced twice, and her mom and dad were married two times and divorced three times … we had a track record for reason to go, ‘Well, I don’t know about this,’” he said. He described their relationship during that time as “rolling along,” without any desire to trade in for a legal title.  That changed, however, when Alves revealed they were expecting their first child. But while they cried “tears of joy” over the news, McConaughey’s mom received the news with less joy. “Next thing you hear is, ‘No, no, no, no, no, Matthew! This is out of order! I didn’t raise you to do this. No, Matthew, you’re supposed to be married!’ And went on and on and on in a five-minute monologue and then hung up,” he recalled. She would call back to apologize, bringing the joy back to the occasion.

By 2008, they welcomed their first child, a son. Their daughter was born in 2010. In 2011, McConaughey proposed. The couple married in June 2012. Their third child was born soon after in December. Speaking to People, McConaughey reiterated his continued love for Alves. “Twenty years later she’s still the only woman I’ve ever wanted to take on a date, sleep with, or wake up next to.”