Ben Affleck Calls Jennifer Lopez ‘The Hardest Working Person I’ve Ever Known’ and Says She Faces a ‘Double Standard’

14 Oct 2026, 20:31 · Thought Catalog

ROBYN BECK / AFP via Getty Images

Updated 8 minutes ago, October 14, 2026

Ben Affleck says Jennifer Lopez’s work ethic still leaves him in awe, calling his ex-wife “probably the hardest working person that I’ve ever known” during an October 14 appearance on The Moment with Jorge and Paola Ramos.

At the New York premiere of ‘Maid in Manhattan’ on December 8, 2002, Lopez gazes up at Affleck while wearing a champagne ruffled gown and a floral diamond necklace. Photo by Doug Kanter / AFP via Getty Images.

The hosts asked Affleck, 54, what his marriage to Lopez, 57, had taught him about Latinos’ experiences in Hollywood. He described her as a pioneer who pushed through barriers and used social media to show there was an audience for her work when opportunities were being denied to her.

Affleck said he believes Lopez still faces criticism shaped by an “implicit or at least subconscious double standard.” Comparing her career to Olympic diving, where difficulty affects the score, he said, “I think she’s got a 4X on what she’s done.”

The couple poses together on the step-and-repeat at Elle’s 2023 Women in Hollywood celebration at Nya Studios in Los Angeles on December 5, 2023 — Lopez in a metallic sculptural crop top, Affleck in a velvet double-breasted suit. Photo by Michael Tran / AFP via Getty Images.

=He also pointed to the financial risks she’s taken, including investing her own money in her work. “She’s done all the things that we’re told, ‘This is what great American entrepreneurs do.’ She’s done them to spectacular success and I have nothing but respect for her,” he said.

Even against his own work schedule, her effort stood out. “I feel like I work pretty hard, but around her, I’ve always thought like, ‘Woo, damn, you know, that’s really something,’” Affleck said.

At Ovation Hollywood on June 12, 2023, Jennifer Lopez — wearing a flowing champagne skirt — and Ben Affleck make their way down the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of Warner Bros.’ ‘The Flash.’ Photo by Phillip Faraone / Getty Images.

Their relationship began in the early 2000s, and they ended their engagement in 2004. After reuniting, they married in July 2022. Lopez filed for divorce in August 2024, and it was finalized in January 2025.

Captured between takes on the West Hollywood set of ‘Gigli’ in December 2001, Lopez adjusts Affleck’s jacket as he smiles down at her — early days of the romance that captivated tabloids. Photo by Mel Bouzad / Getty Images.

Their professional connection continued with Lopez’s 2025 film Kiss of the Spider Woman. Affleck produced it through Artists Equity, the company he founded with Matt Damon, and attended its October 2025 premiere to support Lopez and the movie.

Lopez and Affleck walk hand in hand along a Beverly Hills sidewalk during the shoot of her music video near Barefoot restaurant on October 20, 2002, trailed by a crowd of onlookers. Photo by Ben-Ari Finegold / Getty Images.

“I learned a lot, not just from her, but from her family and the people I got to know through them,” he said on the podcast.

Affleck also said he wants her success to continue: “She’s pretty extraordinary, and I’m not surprised at all to see her having ongoing success, and I wish it for her. She deserves it in every way.”

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