Minnie Driver is opening up about her relationship with Matt Damon. Image Source: Insider
Minnie Driver is opening up about her relationship with Matt Damon.
Minnie Driver, whose new book titled, "Managing Expectations: A Memoir in Eassys" was released on Tuesday, recalled her relationship with actor Matt Damon as she appeared on Entertainment Tonight, along with sharing her first time meeting Ben Affleck in 1997.
Minnie shared that the best friends who worked on Good Will Hunting together along with co-writing it appeared in the suite where others were waiting for them, an hour later and were extremely apologetic. There was something about the broken foot and she added that they were hung-over. Minnie added that meeting them for the first time was like meeting a bunch of really sweet labradors kind of tumbled into this thing and all she thought was that they wrote Good Will Hunting! She played Skylar in the movie alongside Matt Damon.
Minnie Driver claimed that while her romance with Matt Damon was sweet, her family urged her not to get carried away and that her family loved Matt and could see how he was rocketing forward as she was making her way as well. It's difficult to keep your head straight and have a solid sense of deportment when you're young and pretty, Minnie remarked. The actress went on to say that her parents told her that this (the relationship) could end poorly due to everything coming together in a perfect storm.
Minnie shared that her parents advised her not to date someone she works with, and as they said, Matt and Minnie’s romance fizzled out before the movie went on to be a critically acclaimed one, and she described their separation as a surreal experience because it was made public and she had to witness their breakup being publicized every time she entered a grocery store. She shared that it felt like no one cared who you were and that was agony, like a strange, dream. Matt Damon announced on The Oprah Winfrey Show at the time that he was single, blindsiding Minnie Driver!
Matt Damon, Minnie Driver and Ben Affleck. Image Source: Instyle
Minnie Driver added that he couldn't have helped how famous he got once the movie was released, and how his life was being picked over much like hers, so she knew he didn't put the photo up there. When the film was a hit and the cast was getting ready to promote it for awards, she revealed that someone was asked to stay by her side at the Academy Awards, as though the producers were afraid she would break or stand up and shout. Minnie Driver was nominated for an Academy Award under the category of Best Supporting Actress for her work as Skylar on Good Will Hunting!
Minnie revealed that her father assisted her at the Academy Awards and held her hand tightly, assuring her that he was there for her child and would protect her at all costs. The actress said that she was heartbroken by the fact that the man she loved was with someone else, and shared that it was her father, Ronnie Driver, who guided her and made her understand by stating that she was going to feel this way about somebody else, to which she replied to him at the time that it was a horrible thing to say, but now she appreciates the advice her father gave to her. She concluded that whatever they shared was a sweet romance that had a combustible ending that, unfortunately, became the focus of their relationship.
She stated that "expectations" are something that we all have and think about our lives in a certain way; the expectations society has of us, the expectations we have of ourselves, and our parents, and we spend a lot of time trying to manage them when in reality, she believes that getting rid of the notion of an expectation and just being in what real life looks like is probably a smart thing to do.
The actress added that when you've been processed by others, the way they wanted you to tell your experiences, and you've been put under someone else's glass to tell your narrative, you eventually feel like you have the right to tell your story through your lens, and Minnie Driver's book is precisely that for her.
The actors who haven't spoken to each other since their breakup in 1998 ran into each other on the beach. Minnie Driver during her appearance on Keep It podcast, shared last year that she ran into Matt Damon, his wife Luciana Barroso, and four daughters. She added that the conversation was quite middle-aged actually, which was reassuring. She added that it was nice to see him.
