Minnie Driver has recently opened up about the “agony” of her public breakup with Matt Damon.

The two actors started a relationship while starring in 1997’s Good Will Hunting, which became a sleeper hit and propelled Damon to fame.

However, the sudden celebrity status put pressure on their relationship and when they ultimately broke up, it attracted widespread media attention.

In fact, Damon announced on The Oprah Winfrey Show that he was single, which came as a surprise to Driver.

Reflecting on the public nature of their breakup, Driver told Entertainment Tonight, “I don’t care who you are, that is agony and it’s like a strange, surreal dream. But I know he didn’t put that picture there.”

She added, “It’s so tricky, because it’s not deliberate, he couldn’t have helped how famous he became and how his life was being picked over, in the same way that mine was.”

Driver has recently released a book of personal essays titled Managing Expectations: A Memoir in Essays, and in it, she revealed that her family had warned her against continuing the relationship after Good Will Hunting became a hit.

“My family loved Matt – it wasn’t that,” she explained.

“It was that they could see that this young man was rocketing really fast and so was I, and when you’re young, it’s pretty hard to keep your head on straight and to maintain a grounded sense of deportment.”

Driver went on to say, “They were like, ‘This may well end badly for reasons that are to do with all these things coming together in a perfect storm.’ And also, like, you shouldn’t date someone you work with.”

Despite the difficult circumstances surrounding their breakup, Driver wishes Damon well and recognizes the impact Good Will Hunting had on both of their careers.

“It’s not like I’m not grateful for Good Will Hunting and the fact that it changed both of our lives,” she said.

“But it was hard to be a part of something so successful and then have it kind of blow up.”

Good Will Hunting was not only a breakout film for Damon, but also for co-writer Ben Affleck, who won an Oscar with Damon for Best Original Screenplay in 1998.

The film also earned nine Academy Award nominations in total, including ones for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for Damon and Robin Williams, respectively.