Ben Affleck’s three-word response to Jennifer Lopez question amid divorce

Ben Affleck had a firm – and brief – response when his estranged wife’s name came up during an interview about their new joint project.

Ben Affleck has gushed over estranged wife Jennifer Lopez’s performance in his latest film, just months on from their shock split.

Affleck, 52, is the producer on new biographical sports drama Unstoppable, in which Lopez, 55, is a lead star. It’s been a challenging year for both actors, with Lopez filing for divorce in August following months of speculation that they’d split after two years of marriage.

Discussing Unstoppable with Entertainment Tonight ahead of its December release, Affleck had nothing but praise for his ex.

“Jennifer is spectacular,” he told the show’s presenter of Lopez’s portrayal of Judy Robles, the mother of champion amateur wrestler Anthony, who was born with one leg.

As well as Lopez, Unstoppable stars Jharrel Jerome, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña and Don Cheadle. It was produced by Affleck and Matt Damon, with William Goldenberg making his feature directorial debut.

The former couple ended their marriage earlier this year. Picture: Michael Tran/AFP

“Unstoppable is a very different movie than this but in a way it’s similarly rooted in the passion of really talented artists,” said Affleck elsewhere in the interview.

“Goldenberg and Jennifer and Don Cheadle and Jharrel, and Bobby Cannavale – all were really passionate about this film.”

He added that it was “another example” of the types of films he and longtime collaborator Damon are “really, really proud of” and that they’d “believed in the right people”.

Just last month, the Daily Mail reported that Affleck had been left blindsided by Lopez’s decision to break her silence on the divorce, after the singer described her heartbreak as “sad” and “scary” in a wide-ranging interview.

The marriage had been the high-profile couple’s second attempt at a relationship, having previously been engaged in the early 2000s.

Lopez at the Unstoppable photo call during the 2024 AFI Fest last month. Picture: Monica Schipper/Getty Images/AFP

According to the Mail, Affleck had not been aware his ex-wife was planning on speaking out about their break-up in a new magazine spread, but admitted that her history of publicly sharing personal details made it likely she could talk about it “forever”.

“Ben knows that she will talk about the break-up forever, because she has made an album and films about their two relationships,” a source told the publication.

“He would love for her not to talk about it, but he feels she will always speak out.

“He didn’t get a heads-up that she was going to talk about their relationship, but he assumed that it would eventually happen. It is a part of his life just as much as anything else, he’s never going to get away from it.”

Affleck and Lopez’s 2022 reunion attracted plenty of attention, fuelled by the singer’s love-inspired album This Is Me … Now, musical film This Is Me … Now: A Love Story and documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

Addressing their split for the first time in Interview magazine in October, Lopez admitted it was “f**king hard” to get through.

“It feels lonely, unfamiliar, scary,” she told comedian Nikki Glaser.

“It feels sad. It feels desperate. But when you sit in those feelings and go, ‘These things are not going to kill me,’ it’s like actually, I am capable of joy and happiness all by myself. Being in a relationship doesn’t define me.’

Lopez, who did not mention Affleck by name, also insisted she had no regrets.

“Not one second. That doesn’t mean it didn’t almost take me out for good. It almost did.”

Originally published as Ben Affleck’s three-word response to Jennifer Lopez question amid divorce