Ben Affleck opens up about relationship with Jennifer Lopez 16 years after they split

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. Photo / Getty Images

Ben Affleck opened up about the state of his relationship with his ex-fiance Jennifer Lopez.

Speaking to the New York Times, the Hollywood actor said that the pair keep in contact with each other despite ending their engagement almost 16 years ago.

"I keep in touch periodically with her and have a lot of respect for her. How awesome is it that she had her biggest hit movie at 50? That's f***ing baller," he said.

He added that he thought she should have been nominated for the Oscar's 2020, saying "she's the real thing".

After being in a relationship for two years, the pair got engaged in 2004 before they split.

Just weeks after breaking up, Lopez got back together with Marc Anthony and married him a few months later, while Affleck went on to marry Jennifer Garner that same year.

Speaking about their relationship, Lopez told E! News in an interview: "I think different time, different thing, who knows what could've happened, but there was a genuine love there."

She also told People about the pressure of facing tabloids as their relationship became popular.

"We didn't try to have a public relationship. We just happened to be together at the birth of the tabloids, and it was like, 'Oh my God.' It was just a lot of pressure."

Affleck recently revealed that he wants to have a "loving" new relationship as there was no way to fix the one he had with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.

Ben Affleck with Jennifer Garner. Photo / Getty Images

He highlighted in his interview with the New York Time that his alcoholism impacted "the biggest regret of his life," his divorce from Garner, although he tries to not to obsess over all the mistakes he has made.

"I drank relatively normally for a long time," Affleck said.

"What happened was that I started drinking more and more when my marriage was falling apart. This was 2015, 2016. My drinking, of course, created more marital problems."

"You're trying to make yourself feel better with eating or drinking or sex or gambling or shopping or whatever. But that ends up making your life worse."

"Then you do more of it to make that discomfort go away. Then the real pain starts. It becomes a vicious cycle you can't break. That's at least what happened to me," the actor added.