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Minnie Driver reveals why she looked ‘so sad’ watching Matt Damon win 1998 Oscar

Minnie Driver has revealed the “devastating” reason she looked so miserable when her ex, Matt Damon took the stage at the 1998 Oscars.

Minnie Driver reveals why she looked ‘so sad’ watching Matt Damon win Oscar

Minnie Driver revealed the real reason why she looked “so sad” when Matt Damon accepted the 1998 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for their movie Good Will Hunting.

In a resurfaced clip, the now-53-year-old actress sported a forlorn expression as Damon and Ben Affleck gave her a shout-out for her role in the movie while up on stage.

When one social media user commented that “Minnie looks so sad,” she revealed she was heartbroken, reports Page Six.

Driver was “devastated” as Damon took the stage.
Driver was “devastated” as Damon took the stage.

“Matt had ended our relationship a few weeks before this, and was at the Oscars with his new gf … I was devastated,” she penned candidly.

“Wish I could have celebrated more as it was an amazing moment for all of us, and for this wonderful film! ♥️.

The actors co-starred in <i>Good Will Hunting</i>.
The actors co-starred in Good Will Hunting.

The pair dated from 1997 to 1998 after playing love interests in the flick, which boosted Damon to international stardom.

Their relationship came to a crashing halt when the Jason Bourne actor, now 53, announced he was single during an appearance 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 Winfrey, adding that they were still friends.

“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.”

Damon – along with Ben Affleck and Robin Williams – won Academy Awards for <i>Good Will Hunting.</i>
Damon – along with Ben Affleck and Robin Williams – won Academy Awards for Good Will Hunting.

A few months later, Driver called the move “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 told the Los Angeles Times in July 1997.

“Of course, he was busy declaring his love for me on David Letterman a month previously.”

And just last month, Driver further reflected on the end of their relationship, telling Entertainment Tonight, “That was just a sweet romance that was just a sweet love affair in the centre of all of that stuff, but had a combustible ending, which then became the focus.

“Another thing that my parents taught me, was there just isn’t any time to sit around feeling resentful or angry, just have to get on and everybody had a beautiful life.”

Driver described their relationship as a “sweet love affair”. Picture: Alamy
Driver described their relationship as a “sweet love affair”. Picture: Alamy
Damon dumped her, leaving her “devastated”. Picture: Alamy
Damon dumped her, leaving her “devastated”. Picture: Alamy

The Cinderella star noted that her family “loved Matt,” but they “could see that this young man was rocketing really fast and so was I.”

“They were like, ‘This may well end badly for reasons that are to do with all these things coming together in a perfect storm,’” she explained.

Damon eventually wed Luciana Barroso in December 2005 and the couple share three daughters: Isabella, 17, Gia, 14, and Stella, 12.

Driver, for her part, recently celebrated her five-year anniversary with filmmaker Addison O’Dea. She shares son Henry with ex Timothy J. Lea.

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Minnie Driver reveals why she looked ‘so sad’ watching Matt Damon win 1998 Oscar

Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/entertainment/awards/oscars/minnie-driver-reveals-why-she-looked-so-sad-watching-matt-damon-win-1998-oscar/news-story/a714f0abd41577cb0afcb32b0b688fb0