Jennifer Lopez is returning the favor after estranged husband Ben Affleck recently praised her.
Lopez, 55, stars in the new boxing drama Unstoppable, produced by Affleck, 52, and his best friend, Matt Damon. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight published last week, Affleck described Lopez’s performance in the movie as “spectacular.”
On Monday, November 5, Lopez shared her reaction to Affleck’s praise at the U.K. premiere of Unstoppable, per footage shared via social media.
“I would describe all of the cast and everybody behind the scenes as spectacular and wonderful,” Lopez told a reporter.
During a video interview with Entertainment Tonight published on Sunday, November 3, Affleck discussed Unstoppable’s early favorable reviews and how the project compares to his latest film, Small Things Like These, starring Cillian Murphy. (Affleck and Damon’s Artists Equity production company is behind both films.)
“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 and Don Cheadle and Jharrel [Jerome] and Bobby Cannavale, all were really passionate about this film,” Affleck told the outlet.
As he expanded on the cast 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.”
The former couple’s praise for each other comes just months after Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck after two years of marriage.
Lopez filed for divorce on August 20 at a court in Los Angeles. Lopez listed the couple’s date of separation as April 26 — three months before she and Affleck celebrated their second wedding anniversary.
The actress and singer submitted the paperwork herself, instead of through a lawyer, on the second anniversary of the estranged couple’s Georgia marriage celebration. (Affleck and Lopez wed in a private ceremony in Las Vegas in July 2022 before toasting their union in Georgia with family and friends.)
Lopez talked about her difficult year in a conversation with Nikki Glaser for Interview Magazine in October, saying that her “world f—ing exploded.”
“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 said. “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.”
She added: “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.”
Amid her divorce, Lopez is taking time for herself and embracing singledom, a source exclusively revealed in the latest issue of Us Weekly.
“Jen wants to take some time to be single and find herself again,” the source said. “That’s the journey she’s on.”
