Matt Damon has opened up about family life with longtime wife Luciana Barroso, revealing the rule they refuse to break.

The 55-year-old actor – who stars in The Odyssey – shares daughters Alexia, 27, Isabella, 20, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15, with Barroso, 49. 

‘We have family dinner every night, and that’s non-negotiable, and it’s always been that way,’ the father of four told People.

Damon admitted that despite the practice, they sometimes struggle to stay present.

He pointed out, ‘One of my daughters said, “Well, family dinner, last night we didn’t talk.” And we realized, “Oh my gosh, you’re right.” We sat down for dinner, and you can get lost in that routine a little bit and not appreciate why you established the routine in the first place.’

‘That’s the kind of family mindfulness we’re all working on,’ he noted. 

‘We have family dinner every night, and that’s non-negotiable, and it’s always been that way,’ the father of four said; pictured in 2019

Damon and Barroso met at a Miami bar in 2003 before tying the knot in December 2005. 

Two of their daughters have left home, with the younger two remaining.

‘I feel like we are facing it and embracing the fact that it’s happening,’ the Boston native said about becoming empty nesters in the near future. 

‘We’ve been talking a lot about presence and about really trying to be in the moment, and because you can’t slow time down, the only way to really do it is to really be there and be in it.’

He added that he and his wife are ‘trying to be mindful of holding onto what we can.’

Earlier this year Damon revealed on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show that Barroso thought his Good Will Hunting co-star Ben Affleck was ‘the cute one’ in the classic film.

Months into their romance, he found out his now-wife was initially more attracted to his longtime collaborator and fellow Bostonian.

‘After we’d been together for a little while, probably a few months, she admitted that – I think I met her best friend from high school, and it came out that the two of them went and saw Good Will Hunting together, and her best friend thought I was the cute one, and she thought Ben was the cute one.

‘So she admitted to me… I’m like, “You got the wrong one?” She told me that 23 years ago,’ the star confessed.

The 55-year-old actor shares daughters Alexia, 27, Isabella, 20, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15, with wife Barroso, 49; pictured in July 2024

Damon, Barroso, and daughter Isabella pictured July 14

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Damon appears alongside a star-studded cast in Christopher Nolan’s new epic The Odyssey, which hit theaters on Friday.

The film is an adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek narrative of the same name, which sees the titular Greek king embark on a perilous journey home after the Trojan War in a bid to reunite with his wife Penelope.

Damon plays Odysseus, while actress Anne Hathaway, 43, plays his devoted queen, who is forced to fend off potential suitors in her husband’s absence.

The project has been called Nolan’s ‘most extreme’ undertaking to date.

Known for his high-budget movies, his latest could prove to be his most ambitious, with the $250 million budget the most expensive of his career and his first film shot entirely on IMAX 70mm cameras.

The education watchdog identified that “not all serious incidents have been notified” to them

A girls’ home where “children have been exposed to risks” has made “some improvements”, according to Ofsted. The watchdog carried out a full inspection at Clare Lodge children’s home in Lincoln Road, Glinton, between June 2 and June 4.

The care home, overseen by Peterborough City Council, was rated inadequate at a full inspection in February. Now, the children’s home has been rated as “requires improvement to be good” in two areas, “good” in two areas, and “inadequate” in one.

According to a report published on Thursday, July 16, inspectors identified the children’s home is “not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people”. It added: “However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.”

During the latest inspection, inspectors recognised that children “benefit from positive support regarding their health and education” and that these areas are managed by “strong leaders who know the children and their progress well”.

The report added: “While there have been some improvements regarding the care children receive, there are still areas for development. The management of care, both internally and in relation to wider local authority oversight, is weak. Children have been exposed to risks due to staff not following risk assessments and a lack of action following incidents of self-harm or damage to property.”

According to Ofsted, there have been incidents when care staff have “not intervened in a timely manner to prevent harm to children”. The report referred to one incident where staff did not intervene fast enough during an incident of self-harm involving a knife.

Staff reportedly did not seek medical advice in relation to a leg wound. The report added: “When the health team was made aware the following day of the leg wound, appropriate action was taken for the child to attend hospital, where they required stitches. This incident is being investigated in relation to the actions of care staff but there have been delays with this.”

A review of documentation and CCTV footage indicates that some incidents are avoidable, Ofsted said. Children reportedly “frequently experience periods of boredom due to a limited choice of available activities”.

The report praised senior leaders’ “strong leadership in education” and emphasised that children are “proud of their work and produce well-presented folders, and pictures of their practical work”. The report continued: “They gain external accreditation in recognition of the progress they have made. Children find this highly motivating.”

A spokesperson for Peterborough City Council said: “We acknowledge the findings of Ofsted’s latest monitoring visit at Clare Lodge. The latest monitoring visit reflects the progress being made in some important areas, but we are not complacent and fully recognise that further work is needed to deliver the consistently high standards our children and families deserve.

“We accept the findings and remain focused on strengthening practice, improving consistency and ensuring children receive the right help and protection at the right time.”

Clare Lodge cares for up to 16 girls between 10 and 17-years-old. At the time of the June inspection, four children were living at the care home.

Danniella Westbrook has said she ‘hates the way she looks’ as she undergoes a series of surgeries to undo the damage years as a result of drug abuse.

The actress, 52, made the candid admission during an appearance on Vanessa Feltz’s last Channel 5 show, following its axe after just one year on air.

Danniella recently showcased the results of her latest round of facial surgery weeks after going under the knife again to undergo a hare lip reversal.

During her latest TV appearance, Danniella revealed that her fifth facial surgery is scheduled for the end of September where they plan to ‘take a rib out’.

Danniella did admit that she knows how badly she has damaged her appearance, saying: ‘I have every faith in my surgeon. I hate the way I look. 

‘I did abuse myself quite badly at some point my life so that plays dividends. I’m just getting on with it’

The former EastEnders star is on an 18-month journey to repair her face after struggling with a collapsed septum following years of drug abuse.

Her most recent surgery addressed her hare lip after previously revealing it was ‘so far up [her face] now’ and was pulling in the wrong direction.

Danniella pictured in 2004 

The treatment’s aim was to restore and enhance her facial features after years of well-documented health and reconstructive challenges. 

The television personality has been open about her medical struggles over the years, regularly documenting her progress as she continues a series of specialist procedures designed to rebuild her appearance.

Danniella previously revealed on Vanessa Feltz‘s Channel 5 she will undergo six more procedures over the course of 18 months before her face is fully repaired.

Earlier this year in March, Danniella jetted to Dubai to have a full face, neck and brow lift, as well as a lip and nose reconstruction.

While she has proudly been showing the results of her new look, the actress confirmed in her recent interview that she will have yet another surgery soon to have a metal cheekbone implanted in her face.

She said: ‘I’ve been for umpteen surgeries, I’m coming up to surgery number six at the moment, so it’s quite scary.

‘Since I got older the osteoporosis has set in on my bones. So on this side of my face, I don’t have any bone at all.

‘So they’ve got to rebuild all my bones. At the moment it’s filler, but they’ve really got to do a metal bone. It’s got to be put in there.

‘So I’ve got to do at some point a metal cheekbone here and connect it to further up in here where the bone isn’t corroding.’

The actress, 52, made the candid admission during an appearance on Vanessa Feltz’s last Channel 5 show, following its axe after just one year on air

During her latest TV appearance, Danniella revealed that her next surgery is scheduled for the end of September where they plan to ‘take a rib out’ pictured Lizzy Cundy, Vanessa Feltz and Danniella Westbrook)

When Danniella was asked by Vanessa how many more procedures she was facing, she said: ‘Another six to go, I think after this one. Every two and a half, three months, I’m in surgery.

‘I hate looking in the mirror. I’ve just recently had to have a facelift to realign both sides of my face because they were so wonky, just to get this nose in a certain position so we could start working on that.’

Danniella revealed she’s been dealing with online trolling over her appearance, telling Vanessa: ‘I’ve had people telling me to die and go kill myself and stuff like that. 

‘I’ve had terrible trolling but I’ve also had a hell of a lot of nice people. I’ve had a lot of people that support me and a lot of lovely people online. 

‘I think sometimes it’s best just not to look at it so I don’t often run my social media.’

Danniella underwent facial reconstruction at the Gargash Hospital in the UAE.

She said at the time: ‘I have three more nose operations to go. So we’re over half way there now. Facelift has really changed me and given me my confidence back.’  

Daniella and Lizzie looked chic as they made a stylish exit from Vanessa’s show 

Danniella stunned in a white suit while Lizzie turned heads in a salmon pink midi dress

The pair appeared in high spirits after their appearance on the show 

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The surgery was a huge milestone for Danniella, who has struggled with a collapsed septum following years of drug abuse. 

Danniella used surgeon Dr Parviz Sadigh, who has carried out operations on her in the past and has now undertaken the latest bid to rebuild her face.

The TV personality found fame at the age of 16 in EastEnders but due to her cocaine use producers were forced to terminate her contract and she was written out of the soap in 1996.

Danniella has spoken in the past about how her addictions began, stating: ‘I was always in clubs and everyone was doing coke and it was glamorous – except obviously, it wasn’t at all. I was just very young, very stupid and very easily led…

‘I think there should be someone at EastEnders to say to young people when they come in, “Look, your life is about to change, you’re going to be invited places, and you’ll be offered drugs…”

‘Someone who can tell them what sort of people are about, and what sort of papers, and how quickly what you’ve worked for all those years can be gone.’ 

She estimated she has spent around £250k on the drug.

John Wherritt, located at 5 – 7 Eastborough in Scarborough, has revealed that it is preparing to close for the last time tomorrow (Saturday, July 18) as its owners are set to retire.

First opening in 1845, the shop has evolved to offer different stock over the years and now offers an array of goods from soft toys and tourist souvenirs to clocks and a variety of different homeware items.

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The shop predates the telephone and welcomed its first customers in the same year that the rubber band and self-raising flour were invented.

In a Facebook post, The ‘Wherritt Ladies’ – the shop’s owners – shared news of the shop’s closure and thanked their customers for visiting over the years, pushing the date back by a week to allow more people to come and say goodbye.

They said: “WOW!!!…..after announcing our retirement and planned closing date, we’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the response. Your messages, memories and kind words have meant more to us than we can say.

“Our closing down sale has been so busy, we have decided to stay open for one extra week to give everyone the chance to pop in before we close our doors for the final time. Saturday 18th July.”

Hundreds of people responded to the post sharing memories of visiting the shop on childhood holidays and wishing the sisters well in their retirement.

The shop has been listed as ‘sold’ on Rightmove, although it not believed that the new owners will continue the John Wherritt brand.

Manchester has always been an English city that tells its story through culture. Its reputation was not built solely through a global crucible of industry, commerce or politics but through music, football, television, art and a tradition of creative self-invention.

The northern English city of Manchester has played a critical role in the development of Andy Burnham’s political and social outlook. This series considers what some have dubbed Manchesterism and what it might mean for the future of the UK.

Few cities have translated local culture into international influence quite like Manchester. It is the city that gave the world Joy Division, The Smiths, New Order, Oasis and The Stone Roses; where Factory Records and The Haçienda redefined independent music and club culture; where punk, post-punk, rave and Britpop became part of a distinctive civic identity.

But Manchester’s creative influence extends far beyond music, encompassing internationally recognised comedy, theatre, television, literature, visual art and festivals. It is a city whose cultural output has consistently shaped how Britain is imagined around the world.

Manchester is no longer simply a place on the map; it has become a globally recognised cultural brand built on creativity, reinvention and an unwavering confidence in its own identity.

That identity is important because culture in Manchester has never been decorative. It has long functioned as civic infrastructure; shaping how the city understands itself, how it responds to moments of crisis and renewal, and how it presents itself to the world.

Music, in particular, has provided a shared language through which successive generations have expressed ideas about class, community, resilience and belonging.

It is against this backdrop that Andy Burnham’s mayoralty should be understood as he becomes the UK’s prime minister.

For much of the modern era in British politics, culture has been treated as an optional extra: valuable for tourism, regeneration or economic growth, but rarely considered central to how places function.

Burnham took a noticeably different approach.

Culture and ‘Manchesterism’

Throughout his time as mayor of Greater Manchester, culture was increasingly positioned not as a luxury but as part of the region’s strategic infrastructure. Culture matters because it creates economic value, but also because it creates civic value: fostering belonging, confidence and the conditions in which communities flourish.

Part of that perspective appears rooted in Burnham’s own relationship with music. Unlike politicians who occasionally deploy popular music as an electoral prop, Burnham’s engagement with Manchester’s musical culture feels authentic and longstanding (despite the fact that he is originally from Merseyside, and supports Everton).

He has become one of the clearest exponents of a distinctly contemporary “Manchesterism”. No longer simply shorthand for swagger, musical heritage or post-industrial resilience; Manchesterism has evolved into a civic philosophy that combines cultural confidence with social purpose. It treats culture not as decoration but as infrastructure: something that underpins economic renewal, public wellbeing and collective identity.

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Now he has moved onto the national stage, the question is not simply whether he will take Manchester’s policies with him. It is whether this evolving form of Manchesterism can itself become a national political language.

His greatest political innovation may not be a single transport scheme or cultural initiative, but the demonstration that investment in music, creativity, local identity and civic pride can sit at the heart of modern government rather than at its margins.

As Manchester continues to reinvent itself as an internationally recognised cultural city, Burnham’s politics appear to be evolving alongside it. The relationship has never been one-way.

He has helped shape the city’s contemporary identity, just as the city has shaped his political imagination. Now, as he enters national leadership, it may be this distinctive model of culturally informed civic leadership – born in Manchester but increasingly relevant far beyond it – that proves his most enduring legacy.

Indie music and Manchester icons

Burnham’s social media posts and running playlists reveal an affection for the independent music that has shaped both the city and his own generation.

The playlists move comfortably between Manchester icons and other British acts, such as The La’s, suggesting someone whose soundtrack has been formed as much by post-industrial Britain as by Westminster.

Musical taste is rarely just about entertainment. It often reflects values.
The music Burnham returns to is characterised by independence, community, experimentation and a certain scepticism towards established power.

From The Smiths to The Stone Roses, these are artists who emerged from a city that repeatedly reinvented itself after industrial decline. Their music speaks of resilience, ambition and some sense of civic pride without sentimentality. Those themes have become remarkably consistent features of Burnham’s political language.

His connection to Manchester’s music scene therefore feels less like political performance than political formation.

His administration’s creation of the night time economy adviser, establishment of the Greater Manchester Music Commission, advocacy for grassroots music venues, and sustained backing for major cultural institutions all reflect an appreciation that cultural ecosystems are interconnected.

Via the Greater Manchester Music Commission in particular, music was recognised not simply as part of the city’s heritage but as a strategic asset with implications for economic growth, skills, health, education, tourism and international reputation. Rather than viewing culture as something to preserve, Burnham’s administration increasingly treated it as something to invest in.

This Is The Place

But perhaps nowhere was Burnham’s understanding of culture more visible than in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017.

At a moment of profound grief, one of the defining public responses was not a government statement or policy announcement but Tony Walsh’s poem, This Is The Place.

Performed before thousands gathered in Albert Square, it articulated a version of Manchester rooted in solidarity, creativity and resilience.

The moment resonated because it demonstrated that culture was not simply reflecting Manchester’s identity; it was actively producing it.

What has frequently been missing from politics is an understanding that people experience places emotionally as well as economically. Burnham’s contribution has been to recognise that identity itself matters.

People do not simply inhabit cities. They develop attachments to them. They inherit stories about them. Music venues, festivals, football clubs, libraries, theatres and public spaces all contribute to those attachments. Culture becomes one of the ways communities imagine themselves.

As Burnham enters 10 Downing street, the more interesting question is whether this contemporary form of Manchesterism will travel with him. The city’s distinctive blend of cultural confidence, civic identity and creative ambition has become more than a local political style. It offers a model of how culture can shape economic development, public life and place-making.

If that vision gains national traction, Burnham’s most significant legacy will not simply be the projects he championed in Greater Manchester, but the argument that culture is not an optional extra to be supported once economic priorities have been met. It is a fundamental part of how resilient, innovative and internationally recognised places are made.

Manchester understood that long before politics did.

For the second time in a year, there have been public protests in Ukraine in response to a decision by the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

In July 2025, protests erupted when Zelensky tried to curb the powers of two independent corruption agencies, forcing him to backtrack. The trigger for the latest protests was the dismissal of Ukraine’s popular defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.

This is not the first time Zelensky has reshuffled his defence team. Oleksii Reznikov, who had been defence minister since 2021, was dismissed in 2023 following a string of high-profile corruption scandals.

He was replaced by Rustem Umerov who, after two years in office, was moved to the role of secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, as part of a full-scale cabinet reshuffle.

Umerov’s replacement, former prime minister Denys Shmyhal, lasted almost exactly six months before another reshuffle linked to the long fallout from the corruption scandals of summer 2025. Shmyhal was moved to the energy ministry and replaced by Fedorov.

What distinguishes Fedorov’s ousting is that this is the first time a reshuffle has been carried out for reasons of internal disagreement within Zelensky’s core team.

In a press conference on July 16, Fedorov accused the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, of blocking his reform initiatives and dividing the country. Their rift had become increasingly public. Fedorov and Syrskyi had apparently each demanded that the other be dismissed, rather than finding the compromise Zelensky wanted.

That the president sided with the commander-in-chief rather than his defence minister seemingly defies all logic. Fedorov had been an advocate of drone warfare during his earlier tenure as Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation, a role he assumed at the beginning of Zelensky’s tenure as president in 2019.

Since Fedorov was appointed minister of defence in January, Ukraine has made significant progress in stalling Russia’s momentum in the war. Key to this has been an intensified campaign of strikes against Russian oil infrastructure – one of the backbones of the country’s war economy.

Fedorov also moved to reform procurement policies in the defence ministry. In June, he stated that his team’s efforts to enforce competitive tendering for defence contracts had saved more than US$100 million (£74 million) by cutting the costs of 155mm artillery shells.

This is one probable source of Fedorov’s conflict with Syrskyi, who decides which weapons systems and military equipment should be procured. More than an issue of corruption, the rift is about control – and a clash of cultures between the moderniser, Fedorov, and the more traditional military leadership around Syrskyi.

After his dismissal, Fedorov apparently refused to continue in an advisory role for Zelensky. Two key advisors in the defence ministry, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov and Serhii Sternenko, as well as the deputy commander of the air force, Pavlo Yelizarov, have all now resigned.

These developments further underline the internal strategic disagreements over the direction of Ukraine’s war effort.

Fedorov’s replacement

Zelensky’s initial choice for his next defence minister was Ihor Klymenko, who apparently declined the role and is set to take up the post of secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council instead.

As a former national police chief who had been Ukraine’s interior minister since 2023, Klymenko was seen as someone who could resolve Ukraine’s continued recruitment crisis. This is arguably the area in which Fedorov failed to make sufficient progress.

In light of sustained rumours about a new mobilisation of Russian troops for the war in the autumn, it is clear that Ukraine’s manpower problem is becoming more acute and needs an urgent resolution.

According to Fedorov’s diagnosis of the scale of the problem, 2 million Ukrainians are currently wanted for draft evasion, and 200,000 soldiers are absent without official leave.

Less clear, however, is why Klymenko was touted for the role. As interior minister, he was at least part of the problem caused by so-called “busification” – the forcible seizure of military-age Ukrainian men by recruitment officials. Klymenko has consistently maintained that these officials have acted within the boundaries of martial law.

Klymenko’s refusal to accept the position may also have been an implicit acknowledgement of how difficult a job any reform of recruitment would be. This is particularly the case given Zelensky’s highly public commitment to eradicating busification, during his press conference with the outgoing British prime minister, Keir Starmer, in Kyiv on July 16.

Yevhenii Khmara, a major general and acting head of the Ukrainian intelligence service SBU, has now been appointed as acting defence minister. Given Kharma’s previous role in supporting Ukraine’s intensifying air campaign against Russia, his appointment placates critics of the Fedorov dismissal. These include members of Zelensky’s own party, who saw Klymenko as insufficiently aligned with Fedorov’s strategy in the war.

But a realignment with Fedorov’s vision of how to win the war will do little to address either the recruitment issue or the underlying conflict with Syrskyi. That this will likely fester could be particularly destabilising, because the timeline towards Kharma’s parliamentary confirmation is unclear.

Under Ukrainian law, Kharma first has to resign from active military service before he can take on the civilian role of defence minister. He then has to be formally nominated by the president, after which the Ukrainian parliament must approve his appointment.

Like the summer 2025 corruption crisis, Zelensky will probably weather this storm. But the price he is likely to pay is a further erosion of his authority – and a shrinking of his inner circle of trusted advisors.

This is an unnecessary and unwelcome distraction from a defence effort that had finally seemed to put Ukraine on the front foot, for the first time since the end of 2022.