Ben Affleck did not hold back from singing his ex-wife Jennifer Lopez’s praises on Monday night at the premiere of their new movie, Kiss Of The Spider Woman.
After reuniting on the red carpet, seven months after finalizing their divorce, the two-time Oscar winner, 53, raved to Extra about the 56-year-old superstar’s performance.
‘She’s amazing in the movie,’ he said. ‘I just can’t wait for you, the audience, to see the movie. I’m as proud of this movie as any that I’ve ever been involved with. I’m really excited to be here tonight.’
He also reflected on her tireless work ethic, which began ‘early on’ with the project.
‘She just was going to give it her all and she did,’ the father-of-three noted. ‘She worked enormously hard. You get to see all of her many gifts. She’s somebody that grew up watching classic musicals.’
The Gone Girl star stressed that the Grammy nominee was ‘born to play’ the title role in his adaptation of the 1976 novel of the same name by Manuel Puig.
Ben Affleck did not hold back from singing his ex-wife Jennifer Lopez’s praises on Monday night at the premiere of their new movie, Kiss Of The Spider Woman
When pressed about the Oscar buzz surrounding Lopez’s performance in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Affleck explained he was just aiming to produce something ‘great.’
‘I like to try to develop my own standard for what I really like,’ he said. ‘I’m enormously proud of the movie. I always will be. I love this movie.’
While reuniting on the red carpet, the former couple appeared amicable as they posed for photos together and enjoyed an intimate chat.
Lopez and Affleck were married for two years, until to the singer filed for divorce in August 2024.
They had previously been in a relationship back in the early 2000s and rekindled their romance in 2021 before tying the knot a year later.
At one point, the exes smiled as they looked into each other’s eyes at the event and Affleck wrapped his arm around her waist.
It marked the first red carpet appearance for the high-profile exes since their divorce was finalized earlier this year.
The cozy appearance sparked reconciliation rumors among some fans, with one posting a GIF of a stressed out Tiffany Pollard rubbing the temples of her head and writing on X, ‘Lord…they’re gonna start this all over again.’
After reuniting on the red carpet, seven months after finalizing their divorce, the two-time Oscar winner, 53, raved to Extra about the 56-year-old superstar’s performance
‘She’s amazing in the movie,’ he said. ‘I just can’t wait for you, the audience, to see the movie. I’m as proud of this movie as any that I’ve ever been involved with’
While reuniting on the red carpet, the former couple appeared amicable as they posed for photos together and enjoyed an intimate chat
Another said: ‘They are going home together.’
Someone else compared the two to Hollywood legends Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who were also married to each other twice.
‘It’s sort of a modern Taylor-Burton romance. Two toxic personalities who can’t be together but can’t stay apart.’
‘There’s some interesting body language going on there!’ someone else chimed in.
Lopez stunned in a dramatic Harris Reed gown with an exaggerated corset that highlighted her famous hourglass figure.
Meanwhile Affleck looked dapper in a navy suit with a white button-up underneath, as he posed for photos on the red carpet, with his arm wrapped around his ex-wife.
Lopez is the star of the musical film, and Affleck serves as an executive producer through his company, Artists Equity.
Ahead of the screening, Lopez thanked her ex-husband while introducing the film. ‘Thank you so much, thank you everybody for being here tonight. Thank you, Ben, this movie wouldn’t have been made without Ben and without Artist Equity,’ she said, according to People.
Lopez plays an imaginary figure named Aurora, who was dreamed up by jailed gay hairdresser Luis Molina, in Kiss of the Spider Woman, out October 10.
The Gone Girl star stressed that the Grammy nominee was ‘born to play’ the title role in his adaptation of the 1976 novel of the same name by Manuel Puig
Kiss of the Spider Woman comes out on Friday
Lopez and Affleck were married for two years, until to the singer filed for divorce in August 2024 (pictured in 2023)
Just hours earlier, Lopez had a fierce response to an awkward question about her ex-husband during a chat on The Today Show.
As host Craig Melvin asked: ‘In the middle of filming this elaborate, beautiful musical, your divorce was also finalized with Ben’ with the star cutting him off mid-sentence.
Lopez pointed at Melvin and said: ‘There you go! Look at this guy!’ before laughing awkwardly.
Melvin responded: ‘But then I read that your ex is an executive producer on the film.’
Lopez took the high road and said: ‘If it wasn’t for Ben, the movie wouldn’t have gotten made. And I will always give him that credit.
They had previously been in a relationship back in the early 2000s and rekindled their romance in 2021 before tying the knot a year later
Just last month, Lopez said her divorce from Affleck was the ‘best thing that ever happened’ to her.
While reflecting on their split, the actress admitted that their split ‘changed’ her and ‘helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow.’
Back in August 2024, Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck on their second wedding anniversary, citing ‘irreconcilable differences.’
After their divorce was finalized earlier this year, she said she ‘had so much fun.’
On Sunday’s episode of CBS News Sunday Morning, however, she told Lee Cowan about how she had a ‘tough time’ in the wake of their split.
She recalled working on her new movie which also had her ex-husband serving as an executive producer on the film.
The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January earlier this year, the same month they finalized their divorce.
When asked about how she handled the time when her personal life was ‘not great,’ she said she ‘barely’ could.
Just last month, Lopez said her divorce from Affleck was the ‘best thing that ever happened’ to her; seen in 2021
‘It was a really tough time,’ she confessed about working on the same project he was also working on in the wake of their split.
She said working on the film helped her focus on something outside of her heartbreak.
‘It was hard not to think about stuff, but it was like the best and the worst of times, in a way.
‘Every moment on set, every moment I was doing this role, I was so happy,’ she said. ‘And then it was like, back home, it was not great.’
She added: ‘And it was just like, ‘How do I reconcile this?’ But you get through it.’
The On the Floor singer said she later realized their divorce was the ‘best thing that ever happened to me’ as it helped her ‘grow.’
She said their separation ultimately helped her ‘become more self-aware.’
‘I’m a different person now than I was a year and a half ago,’ she told Cowan.
