Minnie Driver has reflected on her “public heartbreak” after splitting from her Good Will Hunting co-star, Matt Damon, in 1998. Joining The Sunday Times for a brand new interview, the actress, who recently appeared in Harlan Coben’s Run Away, recalled what it was like attending the Academy Awards, just weeks after their split. “It was amazing, having this acknowledgement of the work that I had done,” Minnie noted, referencing her Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress that year.
© Bei/Shutterstock“There were these fragmented moments captured by the cameras. Public heartbreak is a very rarefied, weird thing that not many people can understand; amplified by cameras and public attention, it’s pretty brutal,” she added. “But it passes. I wish I could’ve said to myself, ‘It’s all going to be absolutely fine. Don’t worry about this.'”
In a headline-hitting moment, Minnie was filmed looking visibly upset in 1998, when Matt and his long-time pal Ben Affleck took the stage to accept the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Cheering them on in the crowds was Winona Ryder, Matt’s new girlfriend, whom he dated until 2000.
© GettyIn December 2023 – 25 years after the award ceremony had aired – the clip of Minnie made the rounds once more, resurfacing on Instagram. Responding after a fan remarked that she “looked so sad” that night, the 56-year-old offered some context. “Matt had ended our relationship a few weeks before this, and was at the Oscars with his new gf… I was devastated,” Minnie clarified. “Wish I could have celebrated more as it was an amazing moment for all of us, and for this wonderful film!”
Minnie Driver and Matt Damon’s relationship
Minnie, who was first introduced to Matt on the set of Good Will Hunting, entered a relationship with the star in 1997. By January of the following year, however, Matt had announced that he was single while appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show. “I was with Minnie for a while, but we’re not really romantically involved anymore. We’re just really good friends. I love her dearly,” he told Oprah.
© Getty Images“I care about her a lot. We care about each other a lot. It wasn’t meant to be and if it wasn’t meant to be then it’s not meant to be.” Following his public remarks, Minnie told the Los Angeles Times that Matt’s comments were “fantastically inappropriate”.
“It’s unfortunate that Matt went on ‘Oprah’; it seemed like a good forum for him to announce to the world that we were no longer together, which I found fantastically inappropriate,” she said. “Of course, he was busy declaring his love for me on David Letterman a month previously.”
© AFP via Getty ImagesWhile Minnie has spoken openly about the heartbreak she experienced, the Run Away star has well and truly moved on. During a 2024 appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, the mum-of-one revealed what she’d loved to have told her younger self. “From this vantage point, 2020 vision, much later in my life, I wish I could have told her, ‘Honey it’s cool, you can celebrate and life’s gonna be great and beautiful and hard and amazing. And you’re going to love again, it’ll be fine.'”
More recently, Minnie attended the 2026 Golden Globe Awards in January, where she was asked to name her favourite collaborators of all time. “I’ve got to say Matt and Ben [Affleck] were pretty fun when they were just getting going, raring to go, just kids,” the Emily in Paris star told E! Live from the Red Carpet, adding that she had been “very lucky, very fortunate” to have worked with an array of incredible co-stars.
