Matt Damon has revealed a surprising detail about the early days of his relationship with Luciana Barroso. Before Luciana and Damon ever became a couple, her heart was apparently set on someone else.
Turns out, it was the ‘Good Will Hunting‘ star she watched onscreen years earlier. That someone turned out to be Ben Affleck, Damon’s best friend, and Luciana only admitted it after she and Damon had already started seeing each other.
Luciana Barroso Was Once Into Ben Affleck

Matt Damon shared the story while appearing on ‘The Howard Stern Show‘, explaining that Luciana made the confession just “a few months” into their relationship, which began in 2003. The 55-year-old actor said the topic came up when he met Luciana’s best friend from high school, who had gone with her to see ‘Good Will Hunting‘ back in 1997.
Related: A Pool Incident Put Ben Affleck In Steven Spielberg’s Bad Books, And There’s A Gwyneth Paltrow Twist
Damon said Luciana’s friend always thought he was the cute one in the film, but Luciana felt differently. She had been far more into Affleck at the time, which led Damon to tease her by saying, “You got the wrong one.”
Later on, Howard Stern pointed out that Luciana would eventually work with both Damon and Affleck on The Rip, which naturally brought Affleck into the conversation. Reacting to the story, the actor made it clear that he never picked up on any crush in real life.
How Ben Affleck Reacted To His Best Friend’s Wife’s Crush News

From Affleck’s side, the whole thing now feels more funny than flattering. He joked that whatever Luciana once felt probably disappeared the moment she met him in person, adding that something he did must have “rubbed it off.”
Damon quickly agreed, saying that once Luciana met Ben face to face, any movie-star crush she had faded away. Both men clearly see it as one of those harmless moments that happen before real relationships take over. By then, Damon and Luciana were already building something serious together. They went on to marry in 2005 and now share a blended family of four children.
In case you missed it: Jennifer Lopez Reveals Why Her Marriage To Ben Affleck Collapsed, Calls Their Divorce “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me”
Meanwhile, Affleck’s own love life followed a very different path, though it never affected his closeness with Damon and Luciana. He married Jennifer Garner in 2005, and the two stayed together until 2018. He later married Jennifer Lopez in 2022, but that relationship ended two years later.
Still, even after those breakups, Affleck remained part of Damon and Luciana’s world. In September 2024, he was even photographed kissing Luciana on the head during a Los Angeles outing. Even Damon later said he has been “there for all” of Affleck’s relationship ups and downs.
You might also like to read: 10 Most Popular Bromances In Hollywood Movies




