Ben Affleck has acknowledged the talents of estranged wife Jennifer Lopez amid the pair’s ongoing divorce.
During a video interview alongside Matt Damon with Entertainment Tonight, published on Sunday, November 3, Affleck, 52, discussed his upcoming film Unstoppable, praising Lopez, 55, who stars in the project.
When asked by the outlet about the film’s early favorable reviews, Affleck was quick to discuss the film — set to be released in cinemas on December 6 — and how it compares to his other current project Small Things Like These, starring Cillian Murphy.
“Unstoppable is a very different movie than this but in a way it’s similarly rooted in the passion of really talented artists. [Director] Billy Goldenberg and Jennifer [Lopez] and Don Cheadle and Jharrel [Jerome], and Bobby Cannavale, all were really passionate about this film,” Affleck told the outlet. (Affleck and Damon, 54, are the cofounders of Artists Equity, a production company behind the two films.)
As he expanded on the actors of Unstoppable, Affleck pointed out their emotional connection to the story, noting that, “Jennifer is spectacular.”
Affleck continued, “[Unstoppable is] another one that we’re really really proud of. We believed in the right people [in Small Things Like These] and Unstoppable is another example of that.”
Affleck and Lopez are currently in the process of formally parting ways after Lopez filed to divorce Affleck on August 20 after two years of marriage.
Affleck’s public praise for Lopez comes after Lopez recently acknowledged the pair’s relationship during an interview with Nikki Glaser for Interview magazine that was published on October 9.
“I think my whole life I’ve just been trying to say I’m good enough, until where I am now, when I know. I’m giving myself credit. I’m telling that little girl that grew up in the Bronx, ‘You’ve done really good for yourself.’ I didn’t do that for so many years,” Lopez told the outlet. “And now I think, with everything that’s happened in my life and in my relationships and even in my career, it’s like, give yourself a bit of comfort and love. We’ve been through a lot of things that nobody knows about, and you’ve persevered and you refuse to give up and to let it get you down.”
Lopez added at the time, “There’s something to be said for that because things can really change your life in a way that you do want to give up and say, “F— this, this is too hard, I don’t want to do this anymore.” But I’m not there. I refuse to not give myself everything that little girl deserves.”
A source exclusively told Us Weekly in September that the pair remain friendly amid their current situation. “There’s still a lot of love between them,” the insider said at the time.
Lopez filed to divorce Affleck on the anniversary of their second wedding ceremony. The estranged spouses tied the knot in front of friends and family in Georgia in August 2022 after secretly getting married in Las Vegas one month prior.
The exes were spotted grabbing lunch with their children in Los Angeles last month, after which a source exclusively told Us that their divorce proceedings were “still going forward” despite the reunion. (Affleck shares three children with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner, while Lopez shares 16-year-old twins, Max and Emme, with her ex-husband, Marc Anthony.)