Ben Affleck has largely kept his personal life away from public attention, but he has recently spoken candidly about two women who once held significant places in his life.
In an unexpected show of support, the Hollywood actor defended Jennifer Lopez and shared something he still hopes to accomplish with his former wife, Jennifer Garner.
Speaking Honestly About Both Women
Ben Affleck’s romantic relationships have attracted Hollywood attention for decades, yet his connections with Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Garner continue to influence his life in distinctly different ways.
Affleck and Garner spent 10 years married and have three children together.
Following their divorce, Affleck reunited with Lopez, whom he had famously dated and become engaged to years before. The couple eventually married in 2022, but Lopez filed for divorce in 2024.
Although both marriages ended in the public eye, Affleck has maintained positive relationships with both women. His bond with Garner has developed into a strong co-parenting partnership, while his professional association with Lopez continued even after their marriage came to an end.
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Affleck is now discussing both women once again, and several of his remarks have attracted considerable attention.
In a recent conversation with Variety, the Oscar-winning actor was asked about Lopez’s work as an actress and why he feels her performances have not received the major awards recognition they deserve.
The Gone Girl actor openly acknowledged that his opinion was not entirely impartial.
“I’m biased. I have an enormous amount of respect and admiration for what she can do.”
He also questioned whether awards truly reflect an actor’s abilities, explaining that voting is subjective and that he does not always agree with the winners of the industry’s most prestigious honors.
“I don’t always think the right person won the right award. But guess what? I don’t think you die and go to heaven, and God says, ‘This was the actual best picture in 1986.’ At the end of the day, it’s just a bunch of people voting on movie prizes.”
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His remarks followed Lopez’s widely praised performance in Kiss of the Spider Woman, a film Affleck helped produce through Artists Equity. He has also previously stood up for her amid the intense public scrutiny surrounding their relationship and her documentary about their marriage.
However, Lopez was not the only former wife discussed during the interview.
Affleck was also questioned about Jennifer Garner in connection with his upcoming thriller, Animals. The project nearly reunited the former couple on screen, but an unexpected change during production complicated the possibility.
He Understood Her Choice
Initially, Matt Damon was expected to star in the film, with Garner under consideration for the role of his wife. However, when Damon became unavailable and Affleck took over the lead role, Garner decided that playing his on-screen spouse might not be the best idea.
The reason was understandable: viewers could have struggled to distinguish the fictional relationship from the real-life history shared by Affleck and Garner.
Affleck respected her decision.
“She was like, ‘Yeah. Great, but no, I’m not going to play your wife in a movie.’ Probably for the best. That lesson’s been learned,” he previously explained, describing Garner as “very wise in many ways.”
Kerry Washington ultimately took on the role instead.
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Nevertheless, Affleck has not ruled out collaborating with Garner on another project. In fact, he remains interested in the possibility.
When asked about the idea during his Variety interview, he made his intentions clear:
“In a movie, the illusion has to be the thing. And I still want to find something to do with her.”
His comments offer an interesting look at the relationship they share today. Although Affleck and Garner are no longer married, they have maintained a close, supportive co-parenting relationship while raising their three children: Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 14.
Affleck has jokingly admitted that Garner is such an exceptional mother that he sometimes feels he cannot quite match her parenting skills.
“Their mom is spectacular,” Affleck said in a preview of an upcoming episode of Sunday Today with Willie Geist.
He humorously told his children that he was probably doing “about 75 percent as good as your mom.”
Their assessment, however, was considerably less flattering.
“And they’re like, ‘Maybe 40 percent,’” Affleck recalled with a laugh.
“I’m maxing out. Woo, B+!”
The actor has also discussed how their shared custody arrangement works in everyday life. He explained that after putting in a full day of work, he returns home to collect the children from school and spends time with them when they are staying at his house.
“We have dinner if they agree to hang out with me,” he joked, explaining that the children spend one week with him before moving to their mother’s home for the next week.
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Affleck has repeatedly expressed his respect for Garner and his appreciation for the relationship they have maintained since ending their marriage.
“I respect her. I’m grateful for her,” he said of Garner, who is currently dating technology executive John Miller.
Garner has also spoken positively about Affleck’s role as a father. She described him as an “incredible co-parent,” praising him as “wonderful,” saying he takes excellent care of their children and calling him a “great partner” in raising them.
She also explained that their co-parenting arrangement has become “very freeing” as their children have grown older.
Who Is Ben Affleck Dating?
Ben Affleck is currently single and is not dating anyone. While promoting his Netflix movie Animals in October 2026, the actor revealed that he is not in a relationship and that finding someone to date is not a priority at the moment.
Instead, his attention is focused largely on spending time with his children and being present in their lives.
This priority has even shaped his professional decisions. Affleck told Variety that he tries to choose projects based in Los Angeles whenever possible, allowing him to remain close to his family rather than spending extended periods working far away.
Actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner sit together as they watch the Boston Red Sox face the St. Louis Cardinals during Game One of the World Series on October 23, 2004, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
“I’m divorced, I have shared custody, and I don’t want to miss these years. My kids are here, and their life is flying by,” he said.
“I don’t want to have to be in Shreveport or New Mexico in order to work. I know some people don’t have the luxury of making those choices. I’m certainly fortunate, but I know from experience that the best crews in the world are in L.A.”