Matt Damon loves his wife because she doesn't need him.

The 40-year-old actor - who raises 12-year-old stepdaughter Alexia and daughters Isabella, four, Gia, two, and four-month-old Stella with spouse Luciana - hopes his children grow up to be as strong as his partner.

Recalling their first meeting in 2003, he said: "There was something appealing about my wife and that was she didn't need me.

"I love that she's strong. Strength is a wonderful quality for my daughters to see in the most important woman in their life."

Though Matt's parents divorced when he was just two years old, the 'Adjustment Bureau' actor admires their strength and principles and never feels he missed out on a relationship with either of them.

He told Britain's Glamour magazine: "I never knew my parents as a couple. They divorced when I was two. They are strong individuals and both present in my life.

"My mum's name comes up a lot because she's a professor of childhood education and people ask me if I'm of my mother's opinion."