Matt Damon kept Winona Ryder romance off the radar and now doesn’t date ‘celebrities’
Matt Damon and Winona Ryder were one of the most adored couples in the late 90s. However, the end of their approximately two-year romance made Matt decide to never date another celebrity again. Amid their other high-profile celebrity couples, many fans have forgotten about Matt Damon and Winona Ryder’s romance in the late 90s. The […]
Matt Damon and Winona Ryder were one of the most adored couples in the late 90s. However, the end of their approximately two-year romance made Matt decide to never date another celebrity again.
Amid their other high-profile celebrity couples, many fans have forgotten about Matt Damon and Winona Ryder’s romance in the late 90s. The two dated each other for nearly two years and broke up in 2000. The actor’s breakup with the Stranger Things star came after another public breakup with his Good Will Hunting co-star Minnie Driver. Two back-to-back failed romances with high-profile women made the now father of four decide to give updating another celebrity.
Matt Damon and Winona Ryder began dating in the late 90s
Legend has it that it was Gwyneth Paltrow who had introduced Matt and Winona to each other. The Ironman actress was dating Matt’s best friend Ben Affleck at the time. Their romance became known to the public after the Jason Bourne star announced his single status in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1998 implicating he and Good Will Hunting co-star Minnie Driver had broken up.
He then began making public appearances with none other than Johnny Depp’s famous ex Winona Ryder. Despite multiple sightings and several paparazzi photos, the two kept mom about their relationship to media and fans.
They kept the details of their romance fairly private and following their Golden Globes appearance together in 2000, the two parted ways for good.
Matt vowed to never date another celebrity again
In a 2004 interview with Sydney’s Sunday Magazine (per Today), the now 53-year-old actor said: “These days I definitely only date, as we say, ‘civilians.'”
He also told Playboy (per Instyle via Yahoo) later he liked the normal lifestyle which not dating celebrities allowed him.
The actor said: “I don’t think I could fall in love with a celebrity right now, because it would mean changing my lifestyle, and I like that my lifestyle feels normal to me most of the time.”
He also told the Washington Post how dating celebrities magnified the part of stardom that he did not like. “It kind of magnifies exponentially the whole part of this thing that I don’t like, and that really gets in the way of doing my job and interferes with the life part of life,” he explained.
Matt met and married his wife Luciana Barroso shortly after his above-mentioned confessions. The couple has been married for 18 years now and shares four daughters.
Winona on the other hand has been in a steady relationship with fashion designer Scott Mackinlay Hahn since 2011.
Matt’s ex-girlfriend and co-star Minnie Driver makes headlines
It was Matt’s ex, Minnie Driver’s, recent comment on Instagram which sparked discussions about his romance with Winona. It was after a fan page posted a clip from the 1998 Oscars which showed Matt and Ben winning an award for Good Will Hunting.
The clip shows Ben giving a winning speech on the Oscar stage as a gleaming Matt stands next to him. A side-by-side view clip showed Minnie looking very sad despite a big win for her movie.
When a fan asked why she looked so sad. The actress candidly replied: “Matt had ended our relationship a few weeks before this, and was at the Oscars with his new gf… I was devastated.”
In hindsight, she wishes she had enjoyed that moment more.