Minnie Driver recently recalled how heartbroken she was at the Oscars in 1998 to see her “Good Will Hunting” co-star and ex-boyfriend Matt Damon with new girlfriend Winona Ryder after their own unceremonious breakup.
The “Speechless” actress reacted to a clip of Damon and Ben Affleck accepting their Best Original Screenplay for the 1997 drama in which they jubilantly thank all their friends and family.
One fan wrote, “Minnie looks so sad,” when the post was shared by the Comments by Celebs account. Driver responded, “My face 😂😂😂😂❤️.” In the clip, Damon thanks her and his other costars in quick succession and she’s notably the only one who isn’t grinning ear to ear.
“Matt had ended our relationship a few weeks before this, and was at the Oscars with his new gf… I was devastated,” Driver added on IG. “Wish I could have celebrated more as it was an amazing moment for all of us, and for this wonderful film!”
Making the whole situation worse was the way she found out Damon had broken up with her: He announced it on “Oprah.”
Driver said her first inkling the relationship was over when he told Winfrey, “Well, I’m single. I was with Minnie for a while, but we’re not really romantically involved anymore. We’re just really good friends, and I love her dearly… I care about her a lot. We care about each other a lot. It wasn’t meant to be, you know? And if it’s not meant to be, then it’s not meant to be.”
Shortly after the Oprah incident, Driver told the Los Angeles Times that she found Damon’s method of breaking up with her “fantastically inappropriate.”
“Here for Minnie spilling her 25 year old tea,” wrote one IG user on the thread.
Damon and Affleck famously brought their moms as their official dates for the evening, but Ryder was also in attendance.
Besides the screenplay win, “Good Will Hunting” scored Oscars for Robin William as Best Supporting Actor. Among the film’s nine total nominations was Damon’s for Best Actor and Driver for Best Supporting Actress.
