It’s so easy — and deliciously fun — to speculate that there might still be a spark between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck after their very friendly and supportive red carpet display at the Kiss of the Spider Woman premiere.
The former couple (twice), who finalized their divorce in February, posed together in New York City on Monday, October 6, to promote the movie which Lopez, 56, stars in and Affleck’s production company produced — and both have been merrily gushing about each other’s respective talents, too. “She worked enormously hard,” Affleck, 53, said on the red carpet. “You get to see, like, all of her many gifts … She really does it all in this movie.”
As much as it would be absolute gossip gold if they were to reconcile again, we have a feeling they’re simply total pros at all this. Does Affleck still think Lopez is hot? Well, duh — have you seen her? Does Lopez think Affleck is clever and funny? Probably, because that’s what lured her towards him (twice) in the first place.
But, have you forgotten how miserable they both looked in the months before finally confirming they had separated? How everyone was waiting, for weeks, for confirmation that they had split? It was hell! Nobody wants to go through that again — not least Us.
Plus, J. Lo might have the face and body of a 20-something but these guys are officially middle-aged and that means they’re way too mature to air any dirty laundry in public — as well as rich enough to have had all the therapy to get over any bitterness. They aren’t like your divorced high school friend (also called Jennifer, right?) with the loaded Facebook captions about getting away from snakes and finding out who her real friends are. They are very famous, very grownup and, with a total of six divorces between them, unfortunately very experienced at this stuff. So, while we’re sure Lopez has a trusted group chat she can share Sad Ben memes in if she wants to let off steam, in public it’s all about adulting impeccably while looking as hot as possible.
The fact is, divorced couples rarely manage to avoid each other indefinitely. While Lopez and Affleck never had kids together and so have escaped the indignity of needing to hurl a misplaced toy bunny from the window of an Uber at 8:32 p.m. on handover night, they’re pretty likely to cross paths professionally. Just like regular exes have to hide their grimaces at their kids’ ballet recitals, birthday parties and bar mitzvahs, A-list exes have to be nice to each other on the red carpet.
Ultimately, Bennifer both know that, when they’re in the same room together, people will talk, whether they’re grinning or grimacing. Either way, it’s great PR for their movie.
And let’s not forget Alffeck also seems to have a great relationship with the other Jennifer he married to; ex-wife Jennifer Garner, with whom he shares three children. Could it be, in fact, that he’s a decent guy who somehow doesn’t devastate his exes into loathing him forevermore?
When Lopez and Affleck tied the knot in 2022, decades on from their original relationship (and called-off engagement), the world was delighted that they seemed to, finally, be getting their happy ending. So, when Lopez filed for divorce two years later, listing April 26, 2024, as their date of separation, there weren’t enough Sad Ben memes in the world to convey the disappointment.
During a September 2025 interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Lopez talked about what a tough time it had been shooting the movie while her marriage broke down in private. “It was hard not to think about stuff, but it was, like, the best and the worst of times,” she said. “Every moment on set … I was so happy. And then … back home, it was not great. But you get through it and, you know, honestly, I have to say, it was the best thing that ever happened to me because it changed me. It helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow … become more self-aware. I’m a different person now than I was last year.”
What she’s saying is clear: no matter how hot they are for each other and how much respect they have for each other’s talent, they just wouldn’t go there again. They couldn’t. They have learned from their mistakes. But, of course, here’s a disclaimer: we reserve the right to wish them a(nother) lifetime of happiness if, in fact, they ever do.
