Ben Affleck, 52, is insisting there is “no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue” connected to his divorce from Jennifer Lopez while still praising his first ex-wife, Jennifer Garner. Decades after first meeting on set of “Gigli” and dating from 2002 to 2004, Affleck and Lopez gave their lo ve a second try in April 2021. They tied the knot in a private Las Vegas ceremony on July 2022, separated in April 2024 and two months later Lopez filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce, though not shocking to everyone, was finalized in February 2025. But in the April issue of GQ magazine, Affleck addresses his appearance in Lopez’s 2024 “The Greatest Love Story Never Told” documentary, where she divulged that they were “private people.” Ben Affleck shares kind words about ex-wife while discussing “embarrassing” divorce from Jennifer Lopez in new interview. (Photos by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images “Part of it was, ‘OK, if I’m going to participate in this, I want to try to do it in an honest way and in a way that’s interesting,’” Affleck explained. “Because I thought it was an interesting examination.” He added, “My temperament is to be a little bit more reserved and private than hers. As happens in relationships, you don’t always have the same attitude towards these things.” Affleck also talked about wanting to support his ex-wife and suggested that the public should not conclude that the filming of the documentary affected their relationship. “You’ve got to own what you knew going into any relationship. And I think it’s important to say that wasn’t the cause of some major fracture. It’s not like you can watch that documentary and go, ‘Oh, now I understand the issues that these two had.’” He also admitted, “For one thing, you start going, ‘OK, clearly this person has got these issues. Clearly they have these issues.’ And the reason I don’t want to share that is just sort of embarrassing.” Affleck reiterated he had “a lot of respect” for Lopez. The “Argo” film director denied holding “negativity or judgment” regarding his private life being on display to the public despite the split being uneventful in his view. View this post on Instagram A post shared by GQ (@gq) “My life is actually pretty drama-free. And so even if I have the same events that people have— I’m sure in your mind you’re thinking, Oh, well, you just got divorced. That’s not drama-free,” Affleck said. He continued, “And I understand that instinct, but all of this is pretty adult and for all the sensational stuff that gets written, if somebody sat down and talked to me about it, and I said, ‘Well, this is really the experience,’ their eyes would glaze over with boredom.” New York Post readers shared their thoughts on Affleck’s remarks about parting ways with his “Gigli” co-star underneath the Post’s article about the GQ profile. “They had to marry twice to find this out? Slow learners?” one person asked, before others noted that despite being engaged twice they only married once. A second individual wrote, “When I first learned of their divorce, I was equally surprised, and not surprised at the same time.” A third said, “He’s better off staying single. He loves the thrill of the chase or unattainable people but wants he has them it never evolves into real love. If Garner suddenly turned around and leapt into his arms he’d quickly become bored (again). He’d be better just focusing on his children.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by GQ (@gq) GQ shared a quote from the Affleck interview on Instagram. Users of the app also weighed in on the pair, collectively called Bennifer, coming to an end after just over two years of marriage. “Jen is better without this guy,” read one Instagram comment. However, another Instagram poster gave a conflicting opinion by declaring, “He looks a lot better without her.” A third on X said, “How embarrassing to have to talk about his ex to be relevant. No one cares about Affleck’s movies anymore, so he resorts to talking about JLo.” JLo subtly addressed her divorce from Affleck as well. “The Wedding Planner” actress spoke with Interview Magazine. “You have to be complete, if you want something that’s more complete. You have to be good on your own,” Lopez expressed in October 2024. “I thought I learned that, but I didn’t. And then, this summer, I had to be like, ‘I need to go off and be on my own. I want to prove to myself that I can do that.’” the way jennifer lopez looks at ben affleck pic.twitter.com/hR7zQY6wpg— 'Ciηdy (@iamcindyr__) April 25, 2022 While the Bennifer 2.0 experiment failed, Affleck has reportedly grown closer to his first ex-wife and mother of his three children 18-year-old Violet, 15-year-old Fin, and 12-year-old Samuel. The two were previously married from June 2005 to October 2018. “I’m really lucky that I have a really good co-parent and partner in Jennifer Garner, the kids’ mom, who’s wonderful and great, and we work together well,” Affleck confessed in the GQ piece. Lopez filed divorce papers in 2024, hours after Affleck and Garner traveled together from Connecticut to California. The famous co-parents were returning from dropping off their daughter Violet at Yale University. According to reports, Affleck and Garner also shared quality time during the 2024 Christmas season. They have also spotted out together at Brentwood neighborhood event and a paintball outing.  Garner’s rediscovered connection to Affleck supposedly has worried her boyfriend, John Miller. The Golden Globe Award winner’s suitor is said to be finding it “very hard” to “mostly staying quiet” about his girlfriend serving as a “mediator” for her ex.  Lopez also faced scrutiny about a new potential boyfriend after the mother of two was romantically linked to her “Office Romance” Netflix film co-star Brett Goldstein. The “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” singer-songwriter has been hitched four times. In addition to Affleck, Lopez was married to Ojani Noa from 1997 to 1998, Cris Judd from 2001 to 2003, and Marc Anthony from 2004 to 2014. Anthony is the father of JLo’s 17-year-old twins, Emme Muñiz and Maximilian Muñiz. ‘He’s Better Off Staying Single’: Ben Affleck’s Surprise Shoutout to Ex-Wife Jennifer Garner Sparks Buzz Months After Finalizing Divorce from Jennifer Lopez ...read more read less