What Ben Affleck said to Jennifer Lopez during surprise reunion following divorce

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck had a surprise reunion on the red carpet yesterday (6 October) for the premiere of Kiss of the Spider Woman in New York City.

It marked the first time the actress, 56, who plays the starring role in the new movie, and the Gone Girl star, 53, have publicly been seen together following their split.

For those not in the loop, 'Bennifer' came to an end for the second time last year when JLo filed for divorce in August, with it being finalised in January of this year.

However, the former couple had split well over a year before, back in April 2023. And as we say, it wasn't the first time.

They had previously been engaged back in 2002 and rekindled their relationship in 2021 after nearly 20 years apart, before tying the knot in July 2022.

Now, they've raised eyebrows by having a very public reunion on the film's red carpet, as Lopez both stars in it and is also an executive producer, alongside Affleck.

Ben Affleck had nothing but praise for his ex Jennifer Lopez at their latest movie premiere (Aurora Rose/Variety via Getty Images)

And as for what Affleck said to his former flame, he was actually full of praise.

He told JLo she is 'incredible' before praising director Bill Condon for an 'amazing job' with the musical.

Introducing the film, the actor said: "My goal was to empower great artists and tell moving stories and great opportunities for these kinds of great stories to be told and to work with the best directors in the world and the best material. In this movie, we did all that and it’s an honour to be here.”

And the positive words didn't stop there, as before the screening, Affleck spoke with Extra, where he praised his ex's work ethic.

He told the publication: "She worked enormously hard. You get to see like all of her many gifts, she’s somebody that grew up watching, you know, classic musicals. She really does it all in this movie!"

Meanwhile, Lopez has also given Affleck credit for the movie, admitting it wouldn't have been made without him.

She told CBS Sunday Morning last month: "The movie wouldn’t have been made if it wasn’t for him and Artists Equity. And I will always give him that credit."

She added: "They financed it. I told him this was the role I was born to play and I wanted to do it, and he was like, ‘Okay.’ And he helped make it happen."

'Bennifer's' divorce was finalised in January, after they split in April 2024 (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

In the same interview, she also reflected on the split overlapping with filming the project, which was 'tough'.

Lopez admitted: "It was tough. It was a really tough time. It was hard not to think about stuff.

"It was the best and the worst of times, in a way. Every moment on set, every moment I was doing this role, I was so happy, and then it was like, back home, it was not great.

"It was just like, how do I reconcile this? But you get through it."

She continued: "Honestly, I have to say it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because it changed me… it didn’t change 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, I think."

The duo seemed to have well and truly put the past behind them as they posed for pictures together on the red carpet yesterday.

Affleck leaned in to talk in her ear and at one point, even put his hand on her waist to help her walk the red carpet.