Inside Jennifer Lopez’s relationship with ex Ben Affleck’s best friend Matt Damon
Jennifer Lopez and Matt Damon made for a supportive duo last week at the premiere of Unstoppable at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The actress, 55, stars in the biographical drama about professional wrestler Anthony Robles, and Matt, 53, acts as a producer alongside best friend and Jennifer’s estranged husband Ben Affleck through their production company Artists Equity.
The appearance marked Jennifer’s first since filing for divorce from the Argo actor on August 20, and her presence alongside Matt sparked quite a buzz.
What’s more, the pair were seen during a private party later holding hands and engrossed in a reportedly serious and deep conversation for quite a while at the affair.
As it turns out, Jennifer and Matt, while not as close as the latter is to Ben, have been friends for years, having been in each other’s lives quite often over the past two decades.
Beyond just being two of Hollywood’s most notable A-listers, Matt has been an important part of Ben’s life since they were children, with the pair meeting in their native Cambridge when Ben was eight and Matt was 10.
The Saving Private Ryan actor was around to see the genesis of Ben and JLo’s romance in the early aughts, as well as their engagement, the media storm surrounding their relationship, and its eventual collapse.
He was also publicly supportive of their rekindled romance in 2021, speaking often about his love for the couple and wanting to see his best friend happy.
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“I’m just so happy for him,” the actor told Extra in 2021. “He’s the best. He deserves every happiness in the world. I’m glad for both of them.”
When he was first asked about their re-coupling on the Today Show back in 2021, he remained coy, claiming it was the “first time” he’d heard of the matter, before saying: “It’s a fascinating story. I hope it’s true. I love them both. That would be awesome.”
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Matt has been married since 2005 to Luciana Barroso, and has expressed his pleasure at the fact that she is not a member of the Hollywood machine time and time again, to avoid the same frenzy that developed over Ben and JLo’s relationship.
He said as much during a recent interview with Radio Times Podcast alongside Casey Affleck, Ben’s brother and his co-star on The Instigators, explaining: “I’ve been really lucky in that way… especially when I look at Casey’s brother, Ben. I can’t imagine living under that kind of scrutiny.”
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Highlighting their intense relationship in particular with the paparazzi during the early days of their relationship in the 2000s, he continued: “And it’s been like that for 25 years, and we’ve had parallel careers in a lot of ways, so I’m fortunate to have been kind of excused from that part of fame.”
Matt and Luciana have been seen out and about with Ben and JLo often, most recently at the Golden Globe Awards when their film Air was nominated. Meanwhile, the couple were also seen out having dinner with Ben soon after the news of his split from JLo became official.
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