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"I'd tell her something on Sunday between son and mom, and Tuesday I'd read about it in the news or see it in the local paper."
Matthew McConaughey was on a break with his own mom for nearly a decade because he claims she could not stop leaking everything he told her to the press.
Now, the 93-year-old is talking to the press herself, alongside her son and grandson Levi, 17. All three recently sat with People for an interview about their upcoming Apple TV+ project The Lost Bus, out October 3.
The new film marks Kay's first return to the screen after she cameoed in the 2011 film Bernie, while it marks Levi's film debut. "It's gone generations," Levi told People his grandmother told him about the new film.
The family was all laughs and smiles, but things weren't always so cozy between Matthew and his mother, with the Oscar winner admitting that he and his mom were on limited speaking terms for nearly a decade. Kay told the magazine, "We were on a hiatus."
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While Matthew said that they're grown closer since then, he explained the reason he felt he had to keep her at a distance. "We had about an eight-year period where I had to have short conversations with her on our Sunday phone calls because she was sharing a lot of that information," Matthew said.
"I'd tell her something on Sunday between son and mom, and Tuesday I'd read about it in the news or see it in the local paper," he added. "She couldn't help herself."
As it turns out, though, it wasn't Kay who needed to change her behavior or even adjust her thinking. It was Matthew who said he finally got "stable enough with my own position and fame that I was like, 'You know what? My mom can say whatever the hell she wants.'"
Once he changed his own mind about things, he said of their relationship, "It's much more fun now."
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View StoryWhen asked her parenting style while raising Matthew, Kay admitted, "You don't want to have to tell me twice." Matthew shot back, "Bingo. That's it," as she added, "I was strict but loving."
As for his own household, where he and wife Camila Alves share Levi and his younger siblings, Vida, 15, and Livingston, 12, Matthew said he and his wife "try to listen longer, try to understand. Camila and I will explain more of what we mean by more than just, 'I said so.'"
Kay said that she and her late husband James were determined to instill both confidence and the importance of positive thinking in all of her children. "You are what you think," she explained. "If you think you're dumb, you're dumb. If you think you're smart, you're smart. If you think you're handsome, you're handsome."
And if you're a proud parent -- well, tell the world!
The Lost Bus, starring Matthew McConaughey, Kay, and Levi hits Apple TV+ on October 3.
