In a resurfaced clip from the 1998 Oscars, actress Minnie Driver’s expression appeared sorrowful as Matt Damon accepted the award for Best Original Screenplay for “Good Will Hunting.” The reason behind her melancholy has now been unveiled.
Responding to a social media comment that observed her looking “so sad,” the 53-year-old actress candidly shared the heartbreaking truth. She revealed that Damon had ended their relationship a few weeks before the Oscars, and he attended the event with his new girlfriend.
Expressing her feelings, Driver said, “I was devastated. Wish I could have celebrated more as it was an amazing moment for all of us, and for this wonderful film!”
Damon and Driver, who played love partners in the acclaimed movie, were romantically involved from 1997 to 1998. However, their relationship came to an abrupt end when Damon declared himself single during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Despite Damon’s statement that they were no longer romantically involved, Driver expressed her disappointment with his choice of forum for the announcement, calling it “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 shared with the Los Angeles Times in July 1997.
The revelation sheds light on the emotional backdrop of that particular Oscar moment, adding a layer of complexity to an otherwise celebratory occasion for Damon’s career.
