The Oscar-nominated actress Minnie Driver is opening up about the emotional turmoil she experienced after her split from Matt Damon in 1998. The former couple, who met on the set of the 1997 psychological drama Good Will Hunting, were together briefly before Damon publicly broke up with Driver in 1998. However, they were still forced to interact as they often crossed paths due to being part of the Oscar-winning film.
The actress recently opened up about the same as her reaction to Damon and Ben Affleck’s acceptance speech goes viral in a clip from the 1998 Academy Awards.
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Minnie Driver Recalls Devastating Split From Matt Damon
A short clip shared by the Instagram user Movie Shmood features a nervous Matt Damon alongside his co-star and co-writer of Good Will Hunting, Ben Affleck, on-stage at the 70th Academy Awards. The duo is seen hastily giving their acceptance speech as they try to name every individual who made the movie possible.
The camera pans to everyone they name, and as it moves to Minnie Driver, who played Damon’s love interest in the movie, the actress seems lonely. As the viewers pointed out in the comments that the Cinderella actress looks “sad” in the clip, she acknowledged it, saying, “My face,” followed by laughing emojis.
Driver also shared the reason she might appear that way, stating that she was devastated seeing her ex with his new girlfriend at the award ceremony. “Matt had ended our relationship a few weeks before this and was at the Oscars with his new gf… I was devastated,” she shared.
The Chevalier actress also wished she could have celebrated the win more positively as it was an “amazing moment” for everyone involved in the film. Driver has earlier opened up about how hard the split from Damon was for her as she shared the challenges that come with rapid fame at a young age.
Minnie Driver Sheds Light on Challenges of Young Fame
Earlier, Minnie Driver opened up about her split from Matt Damon during an interview on Sky Breakfast Show with Chris Evans. Following the huge success of Good Will Hunting, their split was one of the most talked-about breakups of the late 1990s. Reflecting on the conditions at the time, the actress said,
“Matt Damon was just this lovely, talented, great person who was also very young and got famous very fast. And people don’t always behave well in situations when you’re under pressure.”
She has also said that the whole thing about their split was “dramatically reported.” Despite the sudden end of their relationship and the media uproar that followed, Driver still fondly talks about her time with the Jason Bourne star. “I wouldn’t change any of it. It was magic,” she said on the talk show.
Both have moved on with their respective partners. Matt Damon met Luciana Barroso in 2003, and they tied the knot in December 2005 after two years of dating. They have four daughters. Driver also has a son and has been in a relationship with filmmaker Addison O’Dea since 2019.
Good Will Hunting is available on Max.
