Ben Affleck is showing support for his ex-wife, Jennifer Lopez, months after the former couple finalized their divorce.
On Monday, Affleck made a surprise appearance in New York for the red carpet premiere of Lopez’s new film, “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”
Affleck, who co-produced the film via his and Matt Damon’s production company Artists Equity, sang praises to Lopez while discussing the film at the premiere.
“The principal goal was to empower great artists and tell moving stories, and create opportunities for these kinds of great stories to be told and [to] work with the best directors in the world and the best actors and the best material,” Affleck began. “In this movie, we did all that, and it’s an honor to be here.”
Affleck then called Lopez “incredible.”
“It’s really, truly a thrill and honor, and I’m just proud of this movie … Thank you for letting me be part of it,” he added.
The “Accountant 2” star’s appreciation for Lopez appears to be mutual as she recently lauded him in return while appearing recently on “Today.”
“If it wasn’t for Ben, the movie wouldn’t have gotten made. And I will always give him that credit,” she told host Craig Melvin.
Meanwhile, Affleck told Extra at the premiere that Lopez was “born to play” the titular role in the movie, which is based on a novel by Manuel Puig and the Broadway musical written by Terrence McNally.
Noting that “she’s amazing in the movie,” Affleck cheekily added, “She’s fabulous, although that shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone.”
Affleck and the “Get Right” singer first got engaged in 2002 but never made it to the altar after calling it quits the following year. The duo reconciled decades later and tied the knot in 2022. Things didn’t pan out for the former couple after Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck last year. Their divorce was finalized in February.
Affleck opened up about his split from Lopez in an April interview with GQ, telling the outlet that he has “nothing but respect” for his ex, and there was “no scandal” behind their breakup.
“There’s no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue. The truth is, when you talk to somebody, ‘Hey, what happened?’ Well, there is no, ‘This is what happened,’” he said at the time. “It’s just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all sort of normally do.”
Affleck continued, “There’s a tendency to look at breakups and want to identify root causes or something. But honestly … the truth is much more quotidian than probably people would believe or would be interesting.”
Meanwhile, Lopez told Interview magazine last October that she doesn’t regret her former relationship with Affleck for “one second.”
“That doesn’t mean it didn’t almost take me out for good. It almost did. But now, on the other side of it, I think to myself, ‘Fuck, that is exactly what I needed,’” she added.
