Minnie Driver has advice to her 'heartbroken' younger self about Matt Damon split

Minnie Driver has some important advice for her 25-year-old self concerning her breakup with Matt Damon.

The actress, 54, wishes she could give her 1998 self a hug after being left "totally heartbroken" by her one-time co-star and love.

During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show Thursday, Driver spoke about looking visibly devastated at the 1998 Academy Awards shortly after the Jason Bourne star had broken up with her.

She had to endure the ceremony while while Damon and Ben Affleck accepted their screenplay Oscar for the trio's Good Will Hunting.

While watching a clip of herself from the night, Driver told Hudson: "I want to wrap my arms around that young woman and hug her and go, 'It's all going to be fine, honey. Don't worry.'"

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Driver and Damon met in 1997 while filming Good Will Hunting and started dating after playing love interests in the film.

In 1998, Good Will Hunting was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two that year.

She was nominated for best supporting actress, while Damon was nominated for best actor in addition to winning for his screenplay.

During his Oscar acceptance speech with Damon, Affleck praised Driver for her "brilliant" performance in the film.

Driver said her relationship with Damon ended weeks before the Oscars in March 1998, and was "heartbroken" that Damon had a new girlfriend by the time of the ceremony.

"I was totally heartbroken," she shared.

Driver added that anyone who has had their heart broken can understand that "the last thing you want is everybody having a window in on that."

Reflecting on the painful time, Driver said she wishes she had celebrated her film's big night at the Oscars more.

She told Hudson that if she could, she would tell herself: "Honey, it's cool. You can celebrate. Life's going to be great and beautiful and hard and amazing, and you're going to love again. It'll be fine."

Driver had never seen the clip of the Oscars cutting to her, a "poor, young 25-year-old girl who's about to burst into tears," before discovering it on Instagram.

She described the moment as "so raw" and "vulnerable."

In 2022, Driver told Entertainment Tonight her relationship with Damon was a "sweet romance," even though it had a "combustible ending, which then became the focus."

She also reflected on how she felt being watched for her reactions at the Oscars.

"There's a guy who'd been sent, the cameraman at the Academy Awards he'd literally been told to stay on me and he was so in my grill. He was like a wildlife photographer waiting for the kill," she said. "He was just waiting for the moment that I was going to break or something was going to happen or I was going to get up and scream."

Last year, Driver also admitted that she was “devastated” when she watched Damon receive his Oscar.

She spoke out after the old video clip resurfaced on Instagram.

The actress agreed in the comments and offered some context to the video.

She said: "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!”(sic)

During an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, he confirmed he was back on the market.

He said: "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. I love her dearly."