The woman behind the picture of Matt Damon carrying a SuperValu bag in Dalkey has said she never meant for the photo to get leaked but admits she's glad the actor saw the "funny side" of the situation.
The A-lister, who is currently self-isolating in the picturesque seaside village with his family, was snapped swimming at the Vico in Dublin, holding the bag from the local supermarket. It didn't take long for the snap to go viral, with many fans wondering what was in the bag.
Siobhan Berry, the founder of a food educating site for parents called Mummy Cooks, explained how she and her husband "agreed not to share the photo publicly" and explained how it got leaked "through a family WhatsApp group a few days later".
"You may have seen this photo doing the rounds of late. Initially, we had no intention of sharing the photo but now that Matt's been laughing and talking on the radio about it, I thought I'd tell you how I came to take this photo," she said.
"We were out for a family swim and we bumped into Matt and his family. It was all very cool - no one else around…just his (and my family) enjoying the freezing cold water and having a laugh! As we were all leaving, he very politely obliged for a photo, leaning in with his @supervalu bag keeping the social distance!"
"As he confirmed on the radio, he was holding a bag of wet swim gear and towels - not cans!! Both my husband and I agreed not to share the photo publicly but it got leaked through a family WhatsApp group a few days later and boom!
"It was then all over social media. We felt awful and really sorry about the whole situation; we wrote an apology letter to him but never got to deliver it," Berry continued.
"After hearing him on radio today, he obviously sees the funny side and the fact that the photo ultimately turned into one of the feelgood stories of the early summer."
The day we met #MattDamon
— Siobhan Berry (@mummycooks) May 13, 2020
You may have seen this photo doing the rounds of late. As confirmed on radio he is holding a bag of towels not cans and we can confer! #Mattonspin @SuperValuIRL pic.twitter.com/AjRpJFzpYs
Berry said she was "delighted" the picture put a smile on people's faces and thrilled social media users "got so much entertainment from the result".
"While we never intended that the photo should leak anywhere, we were delighted that so many people – Matt included – got so much entertainment from the result. And the result?
"Irish people were delighted to welcome such a friendly and globally respected actor and activist to live amongst us while enjoying his privacy and one of the few good things that the virus has thrown up – precious and hassle-free time with his family in a country that respects and cherishes the important things in life.
"Also, our daughters (aged 9 and 11) learnt a very valuable lesson. They now see how something private can so quickly go viral and spin out of control," she added.
Forty-nine-year-old Damon flew into Dublin with his wife, Luciana Barrosa, and their children, Isabella, Gia and Stella, in early March to film Ridley Scott's new movie The Last Duel - but almost immediately the film was shut down under Covid-19 restrictions.
The Hollywood star and his family have been living in Formula 1 star Eddie Irvine's house ever since.
