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

Instagram Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Amazon TikTok TikTok Thought Catalog Diamond Mark Camera Collective World FlagLink Loading Arrow Pointing Down Skip to content 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.

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.”

=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.

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.

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.

“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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