Ben Affleck Has 'Nothing But Respect' for Jennifer Lopez, Says She 'Handled Celebrity More Adeptly' Than Him
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03/25/2025 03:05 PM
"You've got to own what you knew going into any relationship," Affleck said, as he broke his silence on his divorce from Lopez
Michael Buckner/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 7, 2024- Ben Affleck opened up to GQ for the magazine's April 2025 cover story about being "a little bit more reserved and private" than his ex Jennifer Lopez
- The Accountant 2 actor also praised Lopez for how she has "handled celebrity more adeptly and more adroitly than I have"
- Affleck and the actress-singer finalized their divorce in January, 20 weeks after she filed following two years of marriage
Ben Affleck is reflecting on the differences in personality between himself and ex-wife Jennifer Lopez — and how he has "nothing but respect" for her as a person.
In his April 2025 cover interview with GQ — which sees him open up about his split from the actress and singer for the first time, following news of their breakup last summer and divorce finalization earlier this year — Affleck, 52, also touched on their unique approaches to fame.
After praising Lopez as someone who has "handled celebrity more adeptly and more adroitly than I have," the Accountant 2 actor explained that, in contrast, "My temperament is to be a little bit more reserved and private than hers."
"As happens in relationships, you don't always have the same attitude towards these things," he continued. "And so I thought, Oh, this is interesting because how do you reconcile that?"
"Because ... I love and support this person. I believe in them. They're great. I want people to see that," Affleck said of Lopez, 55.
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Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck in Hollywood, California, on June 12, 2023The conversation came about in the context of the 2024 documentary Affleck and Lopez made about their marriage, The Greatest Love Story Never Told.
"Part of it was, 'Okay, if I'm going to participate in this, I want to try to do it in an honest way and in a way that's interesting.' Because I thought it was an interesting examination," he told GQ.
"And I think it's important to say that [the film] wasn't the cause of some major fracture" between them, the actor added. "It's not like you can watch that documentary and go, 'Oh, now I understand the issues that these two had.' "
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Gregory Harris/GQ
Ben Affleck on the cover of GQ's April 2025 issueAffleck and Lopez rekindled their romance in 2021 after previously getting engaged in 2002 and ending their relationship in 2003. They married in 2022 in two separate ceremonies: one in Las Vegas and one in Georgia.
Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck in August 2024, and the divorce was finalized in January. The pair were officially declared single six weeks later.
