Matthew McConaughey has revealed that an unexpected “wet dream” played a surprising role in leading him to his wife, Camila Alves.

In the November 21 edition of his Lyrics of Living newsletter, the 56-year-old actor reflected on how, in his mid-30s, he longed for a meaningful, lifelong partnership.

“I had met, spent time with, and seriously dated some wonderful women — many of whom I’m still friends with — but ultimately, they were all stops, not stays,” McConaughey wrote. “By my mid-30s, I was searching for a lifelong partner, a best friend, a future mother. I was looking for more — I was looking for her.”

Then, he said, “I had a wet dream.”

The Dallas Buyers Club actor went on to describe a vivid vision in which he imagined an older version of himself sitting peacefully in a rocking chair on the porch of his country home. In the dream, he was surrounded by 22 women, 22 vehicles and 88 children.

“Each woman was calm and fulfilled. Every child was smiling, laughing, healthy. We all knew each other incredibly well,” he recalled.

Although he didn’t marry any of these women in the dream, McConaughey explained that he had fathered all 88 children — one for each year of his life — and they had gathered for his 88th birthday celebration.

“We shared beautiful memories. The kids climbed onto my lap. We hugged, kissed, laughed, told jokes, shed happy tears. Everyone gathered around for a family photo, looking toward a big box camera on a tripod. Three! Two! One! … Then I came.”

The actor said the dream was a powerful affirmation that he was going to be “OK,” and that one of his deepest life purposes was fatherhood. He also said the dream showed him that even if marriage never happened, he would still be fine.

“The red-light vision of being a lifelong bachelor came to me in a greenlight wet dream. It was a spiritual sign — a message to surrender, to stop intentionally chasing the perfect woman, and instead let the right one come naturally,” he wrote. “So I stopped looking.”

And that’s when everything changed.

“Then she appeared. Three months later, I met Camila. Twenty years later, she’s still the only woman I’ve ever wanted to date, sleep next to, or wake up beside,” McConaughey concluded.

McConaughey and Alves, 42, began dating in 2006 and married in June 2012. They share three children: son Levi (born July 2008), daughter Vida (born January 2010), and son Livingston (born December 2012).

Alves has often expressed her admiration for her husband. In 2017, she told ET, “My priorities are my family, my kids, my husband and my home — and everything else comes after.”

Earlier this month, she celebrated her husband’s birthday with a sweet Instagram post featuring a shirtless photo of the actor.

“Yep… 🙈😂 you are Alright… Alright… Alright… Happy Birthday, babe! ❤️” she wrote. “Today we celebrate YOU — though really, we always do, because you are the light of our lives. Thank you for being YOU!”