Affleck was married to Garner for 10 years, and the two share three children. Years later, he rekindled his romance with Lopez, whom he’d first dated in the early 2000s. They married in 2022, though Lopez filed for divorce two years after that. Despite both very public endings, Affleck continues to speak with respect about each woman.

Affleck’s Praise for Jennifer Lopez’s Talent

When the Variety conversation turned to Lopez’s acting career, Affleck didn’t hold back in her defense. Asked why she’s often been overlooked for major acting awards, he admitted upfront that he’s not exactly neutral on the subject.

“I’m biased,” he said. “I have an enormous amount of respect and admiration for what she can do.” He went further, questioning how much weight awards should really carry. “I don’t always think the right person won the right award,” he said, adding with some humor that there’s no cosmic scorecard settling which performance was truly best in a given year.

“At the end of the day, it’s just a bunch of people voting on movie prizes.”

His comments arrived alongside renewed attention on Kiss of the Spider Woman, a project Affleck helped produce through his company Artists Equity. Even years after their marriage ended, his professional respect for Lopez has remained intact.

Jennifer Garner and the Role That Almost Was

Garner also came up in the interview, though the conversation there centered on something Affleck still hopes they’ll do together someday. Garner had reportedly been considered for a role in his thriller Animals — originally meant to star Matt Damon, with Garner playing his character’s wife.

When Damon became unavailable and Affleck stepped into the lead role himself, the idea of Garner playing his on-screen wife suddenly felt far more complicated, given their own public marriage and divorce. Garner apparently came to the same conclusion. Affleck recalled her response: “Yeah. Great, but no, I’m not going to play your wife in a movie.”

He agreed it was the right call, calling Garner “very wise in many ways.” The role ultimately went to Kerry Washington. Still, Affleck made clear that passing on that part hasn’t dampened his interest in working with her again. “And I still want to find something to do with her,” he said — a small comment that hinted at the mutual respect still running between them.

Co-Parenting and Family Life Today

Affleck and Garner have spent years building a close co-parenting partnership centered on their three children, who are growing up fast. He’s been generous in praising Garner’s parenting, describing her during a preview for Sunday Today with Willie Geist as simply “spectacular.”

He joked about measuring up to her standard, saying he tells the kids he’s doing “about 75 percent as good as your mom” — though the kids reportedly counter with “maybe 40 percent.” Affleck laughed off the gap: “I’m maxing out. Woo, B+!”

Day to day, the children alternate spending a week with Affleck and a week with Garner. When they’re with him, he structures his work around school pickups and time at home. “We have dinner if they agree to hang out with me,” he joked.

He’s been direct about his feelings toward his ex-wife: “I respect her. I’m grateful for her.” Garner has returned the sentiment publicly, calling Affleck an “incredible co-parent” who is “wonderful” with their children, and noting that co-parenting has grown easier as the kids have gotten older.

Garner is currently dating tech executive John Miller. Affleck, speaking while promoting Animals in October 2026, said he isn’t dating anyone right now — romance simply isn’t where his focus lies.

Choosing Work That Keeps Him Close to Home

That focus has started shaping his career choices, too. Affleck said he now looks for projects that let him stay in Los Angeles rather than disappear for long stretches on location. “I’m divorced, I have shared custody, and I don’t want to miss these years,” he said. “My kids are here, and their life is flying by.”

He acknowledged the privilege of being able to choose where he works, but said he no longer wants to spend months away from home unless it’s truly necessary. “I don’t want to have to be in Shreveport or New Mexico in order to work,” he explained.

For someone whose love life has dominated headlines for decades, Affleck now seems far more invested in something quieter — staying close to his kids, maintaining mutual respect with both former wives, and leaving the door open for a future project with Garner, even if playing her husband on screen is officially off the table.