Kevin Winter/Getty Image(NEW YORK) — When Matthew McConaughey proposed to his now-wife, Camila Alves, five years ago, it was a bit dramatic for his family.

The actor recalls the moment in a new interview with Esquire. It happened while they were visiting his family during the holidays.

“I remember hitting the knee, looking into her eyes, and…I remember her face,” the Oscar winner shares. “I remember this smile coming up from her feet. I remember her having to catch her breath. And she didn’t say yes right away. And then the whole family was going, ‘Jeezus, she’s gonna say no.'”

Of course, Alves didn’t say no. They married in 2012 and have three kids.

McConaughey and Alves welcomed their first child, Levi, in 2008. “Man is never more masculine than after the birth of his first child,” the actor says. “I don’t mean in a macho way. I mean in terms of giving a man strength.”

McConaughey had a strong response when the topic of his occasionally mocked Lincoln car commercials came up.  Why does he appear in the ads? “F*** that. Because I’m going to. And I like ’em…” he says.

McConaughey adds that “they pay well. And they allow me to go and do these other little movies for a lot less.”  Esquire notes that he didn’t sound mad while commenting on the commercials.

McConaughey starred in Free State of Jones earlier this year, and lends his voice to the current animated film Kubo and the Two Strings.

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