Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were all loved up as they attended a special screening for her new movie Marry Me. The actress, 52, looked radiant in a white lace dress as she snuggled up with The Tender Bar star, 49, while walking the red carpet Tuesday night at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles.
Lopez’s new rom-com about second chances at love is particularly apt after the star reunited with Affleck last year after calling off her engagement to Alex Rodriguez. The “Let’s Get Loud” singer and Good Will Hunting star were previously engaged in 2002 but called off their romance in 2004 amid mounting media pressure. As rumors circulate that the pair might be ready to give walking down the aisle another shot, Lopez told PEOPLE this month she felt “so lucky and happy and proud” to be with Affleck.
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“It’s a beautiful love story that we got a second chance,” she told the magazine. While there was “a little bit of fear” getting back together almost two decades later, Lopez explained that this time around, “We both were like, ‘Wow, we’re so happy and we don’t want any of [the public scrutiny] to come into play again.’ We’re older now, we’re smarter, we have more experience, we’re at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things. We’re so protective because it is such a beautiful time for all of us.”
The Hustlers star continued that she and Affleck hold their relationship “sacred,” and are determined to protect their love this time around. “There’s more of an appreciation and a celebration for it, which is nice,” Lopez said. “When you find somebody and you really, really love them and you get a second chance at that? That is a really rare, precious, beautiful thing and we don’t take it for granted.”
Lopez also praised Affleck for putting in the emotional work to become a better partner. “I’m so proud of him, I’m so proud of the man he’s become that I’ve watched from afar. Being honest with each other, being loving, that’s just the basis of everything,” she said. “I feel like he’s at a place in his life where – just like how I feel about myself – it’s been a journey of learning yourself and figuring yourself out, getting to a place where you feel really good on your own and who you are so you can be in a happy, healthy relationship.”
