Minnie Driver reveals what she would tell her 25-year-old self after Matt Damon ‘heartbreak’

Minnie Driver wishes she could have comforted her younger self when ex Matt Damon won an Oscar in 1998 shortly after their breakup.

“I wish I could’ve told her, ‘Honey, it’s cool, like, you can celebrate, and life’s gonna be great and beautiful and hard and amazing, and you’re gonna love again. It’ll be fine,’” the actress said on Wednesday’s episode of the “Jennifer Hudson Show.”

Driver made headlines three months ago when she admitted she was “devastated” seeing Ben Affleck and Damon –– who had already moved on and was dating Winona Ryder –– win the Oscar for best original screenplay for their joint movie, “Good Will Hunting.”

Minnie Driver revealed what she would tell her 25-year-old self after her breakup from Matt Damon in 1998. The Jennifer Hudson Show/Youtube “‘You’re gonna love again. It’ll be fine,'” Driver told her younger self on Wednesday’s episode of the “Jennifer Hudson Show.” WireImage

“I wanna wrap my arms around that young woman and hug her and go, ‘It’s all gonna be fine honey, don’t worry,'” Driver told Hudson.

The “Circle of Friends” actress, 54, explained that she and Damon, 53, had just “recently broken up,” and she was still “totally heartbroken” and “terrified” at the time of the annual awards show.

“I think it’s like anyone who’s been heartbroken can understand it’s like the last thing you want is everybody having a window in on that, and it was so public,” she recalled.

Driver explained that she wants to “wrap my arms around that young woman.” Corbis via Getty Images The “Cinderella” actress previously admitted that she was “devastated” when Damon won an Oscar in 1998. Corbis via Getty Images

Driver commented on the viral resurfaced video, because she had “never seen” her face and her reaction and was struck by the vulnerability of the clip.

“When they won, and they cut to me, because there was a camera right in the face of the poor young 25 year-old girl who’s about to burst into tears, and it was so raw and vulnerable, that I commented,” she explained.

The “Speechless” star went viral in December 2023 after she addressed why she looked so “sad” seeing her ex win the major award.

A video recently went viral of Driver looking “sad” while Damon and Ben Affleck won an Oscar for “Good Will Hunting.” WireImage Driver called the moment “so raw and vulnerable.” Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

“Matt had ended our relationship a few weeks before this, and was at the Oscars with his new gf… I was devastated. Wish I could have celebrated more as it was an amazing moment for all of us, and for this wonderful film ! ❤️,” she commented under the video.

Driver and Damon met while playing love interests in the hit movie and dated from 1997 to 1998.

Their relationship came to an end when Damon declared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” that he and Driver were just friends and no longer dating.

Driver and Damon began dating while filming “Good Will Hunting” in 1997. Miramax/courtesy Everett Collection By 1998, Damon publicly revealed that he had broken up with Driver. Miramax/courtesy Everett Collection

“I was with Minnie for awhile, but we’re not really romantically involved anymore, we’re just really good friends. I love her dearly,” he told Winfrey at the time.

“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.”

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Damon later specified that Driver found out about their split from his televised conversation with Winfrey.

Driver also spoke out about Damon’s public declaration and told the Los Angeles Times in July 1997 that it was “fantastically inappropriate.”

The “Circle of Friends” actress called Damon’s breakup “fantastically inappropriate” at the time. Getty Images for Vanity Fair Driver has been dating Addison O’Dea for five years. driverminnie/Instagram

“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 outlet.

Since then, Damon kept fairly quiet about his love life until he tied the knot with Luciana Barroso in 2005. The couple share three daughters: Isabella, 17, Gia, 15, and Stella, 13.

Driver also moved on and has been dating filmmaker Addison O’Dea since September 2019.