Jennifer Gray talks about how ex-Matthew Broderick’s fatal car crash was one of her biggest ‘traumas’

Jennifer Gray rethought her devastating car crash with Matthew Broderick in a new ET interview she shared Thursday.

The 62-year-old Dirty Dancing star spoke about the conflict that took place in Northern Ireland on August 5, 1987, while promoting his new book Out Of The Corner: A Memoir.

“The car crash in Ireland was, I would say, the three biggest traumas of my life, probably the first,” the actress admits, admitting that she still haunts her today.

“When you have a near-death experience and encounter the death of other people, it’s hard to describe,” Jennifer continued. “It was pretty scary being alone on a country road in the middle of nowhere when no one was around or unconscious… It led to so many other things in my life.”

She and Matthew were on vacation in Northern Ireland after they started a secret relationship while filming the hit comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which hit theaters in 1986.

Matthew was behind the wheel of a rented BMW when he crossed the center line and crashed into a car driven by Margaret Doherty, 63, and her daughter, Anna Gallagher, 28.

Both women died instantly in the incident and Matthew was seriously injured.

Disruptive: They were driving a rental car in Northern Ireland when Matthew crossed the center line and hit the other car. While the two women inside lost their lives, he was seriously injured and lost consciousness.

Terrible: “I was the only living witness because Matthew survived but was unconscious, amnesiac and badly injured. I thought he was dead,’ he said; seen in 1987

Jennifer found the accident particularly traumatic, as she was the only conscious survivor of the wreckage while she was alone on the road.

“I was the only witness alive, because Matthew had survived, but was unconscious, amnesiac, and badly injured. I thought she was dead,” he said, touching his voice. “I didn’t even know there were two other women who died tragically at the time. thing.

The incident plagued Broderick for years, and some fans speculated about the cause, but Gray said there was nothing sinister in the events leading up to the incident.

“I didn’t have any information they thought I had because people wanted answers, and because it was an accident, there was no answer,” he said. ‘AND [Matthew] he was a great driver and nobody drank. It was just an accident. And it was tragic and I always think of the family in Ireland”.

Romance at work: She and Broderick began dating and engaged during the filming of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in 1986 (pictured)

Soured: The couple was on vacation after Jennifer finished filming the classic Dirty Dancing romance starring Patrick Swayze, but the aftermath of the movie’s strong reaction made it difficult for her to enjoy it.

The couple were on vacation after Jennifer finished filming the classic Dirty Dancing romance starring Patrick Swayze, but the aftermath of the film’s strong reaction made it difficult for her to enjoy it.

Broderick, who had been engaged while he and Ferris Bueller were filming, would split shortly after the crash in 1988.

Broderick later married Sarah Jessica Parker in 1997, and Gray was married to actor Clark Gregg from 2001 to 2021.

After her brief romance with Broderick, Gray entered a new A-list relationship with Johnny Depp.

Keep it up: After her short-lived romance with Broderick, Gray started a new first-class relationship with Johnny Depp, but accused Johnny Depp of being “insanely jealous and paranoid” in his memoirs; seen in 1989

“We were young… For me, this man was the answer to my problems. This man was sweet, loving, romantic, loving me and beautiful. “I desperately needed to go back to something that looked like Johnny Depp from 1989,” he said. “Believe me, it was a very soft landing. It was necessary. I was bleeding and this man saved me and he made sure… I didn’t feel what I felt anymore.’

However, Jennifer also accused her ex of being “insanely jealous and paranoid” in her memoirs.

“All I can say about this lawsuit is that it breaks my heart for everyone involved,” Gray said of the ongoing defamation lawsuit against Depp’s ex-wife, Amber Heard. “I just think it’s sad and I wish that this is fixed and everyone is well.”