Discussing Unstoppable with Entertainment Tonight before 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.
Besides Lopez, Unstoppable stars Jharrel Jerome, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Pena and Don Cheadle. It was produced by Affleck and Matt Damon, with William Goldenberg making his feature directorial debut.
“Unstoppable is a very different movie than this, but in a way it’s similarly rooted in the passion of really talented artists,” Affleck said during the interview.
“Goldenberg and Jennifer and Don Cheadle and Jharrel, and Bobby Cannavale – all were really passionate about this film.”
He said it was “another example” of the types of films he and long-time collaborator Damon were “really, really proud of” and that they had “believed in the right people”.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez spotted in Los Angeles after their divorce. Photo / Getty Images
Only last month, the Daily Mail reported 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.
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 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.”
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were first engaged in the early 2000s. Photo / Getty Images
Affleck and Lopez’s marriage in 2022 attracted plenty of attention, fuelled by the singer’s love-inspired album This Is Me … Now, the corresponding musical film This Is Me … Now: A Love Story, and the documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told.
“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.’
