That look of love! Jennifer Lopez couldn’t keep her eyes off Ben Affleck as they walked hand-in-hand for the taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live! amid the actor’s “out of context” comments about ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
Ben, 49, and J. Lo, 52, were all smiles as they arrived at the Hollywood studio on December 15 ahead of the Argo actor’s appearance on the late-night talk show. Instead of a PDA-packed display, which Bennifer 2.0 has come to be associated with, the pair looked comfortable with one another as they greeted fans and exchanged smiles.
The pair have been enjoying their rekindled romance following the “Jenney From the Block” singer’s April 2021 split from Alex Rodriguez.
During his interview with Jimmy Kimmel, the director took time to address “clickbait” articles surrounding his recent appearance on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show on December 14. Ben told Jimmy, 54, that he would never “say a bad thing” about the mother of his children, Jennifer, 49, whom he was married to from 2005 to 2018.
“When it’s about my kids, I have to just draw a line and be clear — it’s not true,” the Last Duel actor said. “I don’t believe that. It’s the exact opposite of who I am, what I believe and I would never want my kids to think that I would ever say a bad thing about their mom.”
“Being the subject of [something like this] is just the cost of doing business a little bit, but not with my kids,” Ben added. “It’s wrong. It hurts me.”
During his two-hour candid chat with Howard Stern, the Good Will Hunting actor discussed his struggles with alcohol abuse and how he and the Alias actress, 49, grew apart.
“That was part of why I started drinking alcohol, I was trapped,” Ben told Howard, 67. “I was like, ‘I can’t leave because of my kids, but I am not happy. What do I do?’ What I did was drink a bottle of scotch on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution.”
However, the Hollywood star also shared plenty of praise for Jennifer, adding how much he respected her and admired her as a mother.
Ben admitted to Jimmy that he was surprised by how the interview made him “out to be the worst, most insensitive, stupid, awful guy,” as he thought the long-form interview gave him a chance to be open.
“We talked a lot about family and divorce and alcoholism and struggling with real things, and how you have to be accountable,” the Massachusetts native explained. “And [we talked about] how I work with my ex-wife and how I’m so proud that we work together for our kids the best that we can for them … I thought, ‘Wow, I should do more honest, exploratory, self-evaluating things.'”
“Jen isn’t particularly happy with Ben’s wording on the subject of why they divorced,” an insider told In Touch on December 14. “It was disrespectful.”
However, it appears Ben and J. Lo feel confident the air has been cleared and the former couple can move forward with their successful coparenting.
Keep scrolling to see how cozied-up Ben and J. Lo looked before his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!