Matthew McConaughey opened up about painful moments from his past in his new memoir, Greenlights.
The Oscar-winning actor was estranged from his mother, Kay, for nearly a decade after she began leaking their personal conversations to the press and betraying his trust in other ways, he revealed in the book that came out Tuesday.
“I was calling my mom at that time, after I’d gotten famous, needing to talk to my mom,” he told The Howard Stern Show. “And my mom was not the only one on the phone. The woman that was on the phone was a fan ― of my fame.”
He added: “I would have conversations, and then all of a sudden — whoop — what we’d talked about would end up in the paper three days later. I was, like, ‘Mom, that was between us!’”
He said he would have to tell his mother not to share things, but she didn’t listen. The final straw was a TV interview she gave from his childhood home in which she pointed to the bed where he lost his virginity and revealed other extremely personal details.
When McConaughey called her during the TV special, she initially denied doing anything, then said that she “didn’t think” he’d find out about the interview.
“We went through a time where I didn’t really share much with her,” he said. “She became a different person.”
“It was a strenuous relationship for eight years. We’re back completely now,” the actor added, saying that he’s since “forgiven her” and had to “make some boundaries.”
“There’s always forgiveness. I just tried to bide my time,” he said. “It was a sad time. I remember talking to my brothers, going, ‘I have these five-minute conversations with mom on Sunday when I’ll call her, and I just really listen and barely say anything.’
“And I don’t feel like she’s getting to know me or I’m getting to know her any better,” McConaughey added. “It was tough for eight years, but we went through it, and we’re on the other side of it. It’s good.”