Oh, the Bennifer days. Ben Affleck opened up about his highly publicized relationship with ex Jennifer Lopez during a TimesTalks at the NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts in NYC Monday, December 12. Listen to what he said in the video above!
The Oscar winner, 44, and Lopez, 47, began dating in 2002 when they met on set of Gigli, which turned out to be a box-office bomb. They’d later call off their engagement in 2004.
“It could have been a bad movie no one cared about. Angelina Jolie had a bad movie that year and no one cared. But it was because I was dating Jennifer Lopez that made it a big f–king deal. So not only was it just a bad movie but ‘they dated each other,'” Affleck said. (In 2003, Jolie starred in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Beyond Borders.)
“There was a reporter doing stand-up in front of the theater that Friday morning, [saying] ‘Here I am outside of Gigli, and as you can see, no one is here in line,'” he continued. “I was like, ‘What is this, hurricane coverage?'”
Following the split, Affleck fell in love with Jennifer Garner. The pair previously appeared onscreen together in 2001’s Pearl Harbor, but began a relationship after starring in 2003’s Daredevil. During the TimesTalks, the Argo star mentioned Garner, 44, when he was asked what the most defining moment of his life has been.
“In my career or otherwise, it is the birth of my children. The entrance of my children into the world,” he said. “It’s a joy to hang out with them. I think the meaning of life is to make good people.”
He added: “[Jennifer is] the greatest mom in the world.”
Affleck and the Miracles From Heaven actress married in 2005 and are parents of daughters Violet, 11, and Seraphina, 7, and son Samuel, 4. In June 2015, the pair announced they were splitting after 10 years of marriage.
Nearly two weeks after the news, Affleck made his first public appearance to promote Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice at Comic Con in San Diego. On Monday, Affleck — promoting his latest directorial effort, Live by Night — revealed that his son pushed him to play the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the film.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to be Batman,’ and he was like, ‘Dad, you have to be Batman.’ He’s right. If you can be Batman, you have to be Batman,” Affleck said. “He still thinks I really am Batman. He thinks I’m in my Batcave right now. Eventually, he will understand, and it will be a steep therapist’s bill, but I’ll take it.”
Although Batman v Superman was met with mixed-to-negative reviews and fan response, Affleck will reprise the role in 2017’s Justice League.
