Ben Affleck Admits He ‘Keeps In Touch’ With Ex Jennifer Lopez: ‘She’s The Real Thing’

Ben Affleck is spilling all sorts of tea these days. He's made the surprising admission that he still keeps in touch with ex Jennifer Lopez, 16 years after they called off their engagement.

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February 21, 2020 6:27PM EST
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck
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Ben Affleck has been getting deeply personal while doing promotional work for his new film The Way Back. He admitted that his biggest regret in life was his divorce from ex-wife Jennifer Garner, and now he’s opening up about the other Jennifer that he loved. That would be Jennifer Lopez. The pair was set to walk down the aisle before abruptly calling off their wedding in Jan. 2004, after two years of “Bennifer” being Hollywood’s “It” couple. Now the 47-year-old actor has made the stunning revelation that they still keep in touch.

New York Times reporter Brooks Barnes profiled Ben and her piece included his regret over his divorce. Now she has released information that didn’t make it into the final story, and that is his admiration of his 50-year-old ex. He said that Jennifer “should have been nominated” for an Oscar for her work in Hustlers. “She’s the real thing,” he revealed. “I keep in touch periodically with her and have a lot of respect for her. How awesome is it that she had her biggest hit movie at 50? That’s f**king baller.”

Ben and J.Lo had one of Hollywood’s most high-profile romances back in the day. They fell in love while filming the 2003 crime romance Gigli and he gave her a six carat pink diamond engagement ring in 2002, setting off a colored diamond craze. Ben even appeared in her “Jenny From The Block” music video, caressing her famous bikini-clad behind while aboard a yacht.

But it wasn’t meant to be. Five months after calling off their engagement, J.Lo married singer Marc Anthony, 51, in a backyard ceremony at her home. In Oct. 2004, Ben and his Daredevil co-star Jennifer Garner made their first public appearance as a couple, putting on a PDA show at a Boston Red Sox game. They got engaged on Jennifer’s 33rd birthday on April 17, 2005, and welcomed their first child, daughter Violet in Dec. 2005.  J.Lo later wrote in her 2014 memoir True Love, that, “It felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest,” upon her breakup with Ben. She’s now engaged to former New York Yankees Star Alex Rodriguez, 44.