“You have shown kindness, dedication, diligence, humility, graciousness of spirit, beauty in courage, great empathy, astonishing talent, real poise and true grace…It has been nothing but an honor and a pleasure to work with you,” the message read. “I only wish I were lucky enough to be in all your movies.”
Signed, ”With love, respect and gratitude, Ben Affleck.”
He insisted, however, that they were still just friends. Lopez had been married to dancer Cris Judd, her second husband, since September 2001.
To have crossed that line, Affleck later told Vanity Fair, would’ve gone against his “fundamental code.” But, he explained of their romantic timeline, “It changed when she told me she was getting separated. At that point, it became a possibility; doors were opened.”
Lopez finalized her divorce from Judd in June 2002.
