By Caroline Graham for the Sun, April 23rd, 1997.
Retyped by Ric.
Friends star hangs on every word.
Millions of women lust after Friends Star Matt LeBlanc - but the dark-eyed hunk is a mummy’s boy who won’t make a move without her approval, his sexy ex lover revealed last night.
Model Tonya Poole, who dated the TV heart-throb for three years, said mum Pat is the No 1 lady in the actor’s life.
Blonde Tonya, 29, said: "Matt adores his mother. He talks to her every day and won’t do a thing without her okay.
"He asks her about everything - girlfriends, acting work, his future. If she doesn’t like you - you’re out."
The 34C-22-34 Playboy Playmate added: "I’m sure his mom had something to do with us breaking up.
"I know he told Pat about me and, at first, things seemed okay.
"But when he got the part as Joey in Friends I think she was worried about him being too serious with someone.
"Matt approved of me having a career but I think his mum didn’t. Pat wants him to find a nice girl to settle down with.
"When Matt does get married, I think people will be surprised by the lady he chooses.
"She’ll be pretty but stay at home and raise the kids, just like his mum did.
"I don’t think she ever felt comfortable with the super-sexy image I have.
"Matt loved it. Most guys would have a problem with their girlfriend being a Playboy model and taking off her clothes for strangers.
"He enjoyed showing me off in public. He loved it when I wore tiny little leather skirts and crop tops. It turned him on.
Emotional.
"Matt wasn’t into kinky sex, just straight sex, lots of it. And if I wore something leather, that kept him happy!
"He always encouraged me to model. He’d tell me, ‘You’ve got a great body and I love looking at you.’"
Mother and son share a strong bond forged after Matt’s father, Paul LeBlanc, walked out on them when Matt was just a baby.
Pat, an Italian, raised him alone in Newton, Massachusetts.
Tonya said: "Matt was forced to grow up and be a ‘little man’ for his mum. That’s why they’re close.
"But he was always very emotional when he talked about his father. Matt told me his mum never talked about his dad. As a little boy, he thought his dad had been killed in Vietnam.
"But when he was eight, he came home from school one day and a strange man was sitting on the couch.
"Matt told me, ‘I knew it was Dad. I raced across and flung myself in his arms. He didn’t do anything. I thought he’d come back to live with us and be a real dad. But a couple of hours later he walked out the door and I did not see him for years.’"
The 29-year-old star was reunited with his father recently.
Tonya said: "After we split up a mutual friend told me Paul was invited to Matt’s surprise birthday party. Apparently they’re trying to patch their relationship now.
"But I know Matt always had a big chip on his shoulder about his father.
"He’s a great sin and any father would be proud of him. But Matt’s always going to be a mummy’s boy first and foremost."
Matt, who earns £65,000 [about $100,000] an episode for the Channel 4 sitcom, can’t resist lavishing expensive gifts on his mum.
Tonya said: "Matt bought a really expensive purple couch to celebrate his Friends role.
"His mum admired it so he bought an identical one and had it shipped 3,000 miles to the home in Newton at huge expense.
"When I asked him why he hadn’t just given her the money for a new couch, he grinned and said, ‘This was a surprise and she loved it, that’s worth every single penny. Mum’s a very special, lovely lady. I’d do anything to make her happy.’"
Despite his generosity to his mum, Tonya says Matt is careful with his new-found money. She said: "He would rather order a take-away pepperoni pizza than dine in a flashy restaurant."
However, he did splash out £1.5million [$3million] on a mansion with a swimming pool in the hills over-looking Los Angeles.
Tonya said: "We went skinny-dipping the weekend he moved in and it was heavenly floating around naked, watching the lights of LA twinkle below.
"Then we made love in his Jacuzzi. Matt was laughing. He said to me, ‘Isn’t this so Hollywood! I’m making love in a Jacuzzi in my million dollar pad with my gorgeous model girl!’"
But Matt never forgot the friends he made before he hit the big time.
Buddies.
Tonya told how he rushed to comfort the family of a close pal David Knight, who was killed in a tragic accident.
David accidentally shot himself while cleaning his gun at his Hollywood home.
Tonya said: "David was always round at Matt’s. He was one of Matt’s best buddies.
"They’d go cruising together on their Harley-Davidsons.
"Matt got the call on the Friends set and stopped everything and raced around to David’s place.
"The body had been removed but there was blood everywhere.
"Matt spent eight hours on his hands and knees cleaning the place so David’s parents, who were flying in from another state, wouldn’t see the mess.
"Matt spent days consoling David’s family. He was a true friend in a time of need."