Ben Affleck Brought ‘Amazing’ Jennifer Lopez Flowers While She Was Married to Someone Else

Jennifer Lopez opened a restaurant in 2002. Before he was dating her, Ben Affleck brought her flowers to celebrate.

Before Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez began dating for the first time, they saw each other as friends. Lopez was married to her second husband, Cris Judd, when she met Affleck on the set of Gigli. Lopez’s first husband, Ojani Noa, recalled witnessing Lopez walk a red carpet with Judd while Affleck waited around back with a bouquet of flowers for her.

Ben Affleck seemed interested in Jennifer Lopez when she was married to someone else

In 2002, Lopez opened the restaurant Madre’s in Pasadena, California. At the time, Lopez was married to Judd, though the relationship was reportedly on the rocks. She was working with Affleck on Gigli, and he came to the restaurant opening to support her.

“Madre’s had a grand opening,” Noa, who worked as the restaurant manager, told the Daily Mail. “She walked the red carpet with Cris but Ben was waiting round the back with a bunch of red roses.”

Noa said that at one point during the party, he spoke to Affleck about how much they both admired Lopez.

“Cris and Ben are both good guys,” Noa said. “That night I sat on the patio with Ben and he told me what an amazing woman Jen is. I said, ‘I know.’”

Ben Affleck said he didn’t see Jennifer Lopez as anything more than a friend at first

According to both Affleck and Lopez, they were nothing more than friends when they first met. While they began dating before Lopez finalized her divorce, she said this hadn’t been their intention.

“I think people will inevitably wonder,” she told Access Hollywood in 2003. “The truth is that when we did start working together we got along great. I mean, we really did become friends, really good friends … We talked a lot and that’s the thing. There was no kind of idea that we would be together in the future, so it was one of those things where you kind of like say too much.”

Affleck said he didn’t treat her like a potential romantic partner at first. In the end, this strengthened their relationship.

“Because you know when you aren’t trying to impress someone cause you don’t think that you’re going to be dating them it’s like, oh this doesn’t matter, I don’t have to impress her,” he said. “You’ll kind of admit to things.”

Ojani Noa did not believe their marriage would last

Noa said he liked Affleck and wished him the best after his 2022 marriage to Lopez. Still, he didn’t think the union would last.

“I’m happy she has gone back to Ben but I have a feeling this won’t last,” he said. “I think she’s someone who will be married seven or eight times. I can’t see her ever settling down with one person.”

He said that this feeling was not born out of residual bitterness toward Lopez.

“For many years I felt burned, bruised. I think if she hadn’t had all those people around her then we might still be together,” he said. “But I have my life and I am happy. I still believe in love and I hope Jen has finally found the love she has been looking for.”