Jennifer Lopez laughs off 'Today' host Craig Melvin after Ben Affleck divorce question

Jennifer Lopez has closed the book on her Bennifer chapter, so don't ask for a rereading.

The Golden Globe-nominated actress offered a playful response when asked about her divorce from ex Ben Affleck during a "Today" show interview for her latest film, "Kiss of the Spider Woman," on Monday, Oct. 6. Affleck serves as an executive producer on the upcoming musical drama, which earned Lopez a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

The Bill Condon-directed film wrapped production about two months before Lopez filed for divorce in August 2024.

"In the middle of filming this elaborate, beautiful musical, your divorce was also finalized with Ben," "Today" host Craig Melvin began, but Lopez quickly halted Melvin's journalistic train of thought.

"There you go! Look at this guy!" Lopez, 56, said with a laugh. Without missing a beat, Melvin clarified he was asking the question because of Affleck's producer role.

"If it wasn't for Ben, the movie wouldn't have gotten made, and I will always give him that credit," Lopez said. Regarding their divorce, she added: "Things happen; you have to keep going."

Lopez plays movie star Ingrid Luna in "Kiss of the Spider Woman," an adaptation of the stage musical about prisoners in Argentina. The musical is based on the 1976 novel by Manuel Puig.

The film is slated to hit theaters on Friday, Oct. 10.

Watch Jennifer Lopez react to Ben Affleck question on 'Today' show

What have Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck said about divorce?

Lopez and Affleck married in 2022 after rekindling their relationship the previous year. The two originally dated in the 2000s and became a tabloid fixture, famously earning the nickname "Bennifer." After getting engaged in 2002, they postponed the wedding in 2003 amid excessive media attention before later splitting.

After several months of fan and media speculation, Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck in Los Angeles in August 2024, coinciding with the two-year anniversary of the couple's Georgia wedding ceremony. Lopez and Affleck finalized their divorce in January.

In an October 2024 interview with Interview magazine, the "Jenny from the Block" singer described the period of her split from Affleck as "probably the hardest time of my life," but she shared "it was also the best time because I got to do that work on myself."

"Being in a relationship doesn't define me," Lopez reflected. "I can't be looking for happiness in other people. I have to have happiness within myself. I used to say I'm a happy person but was still looking for something for somebody else to fill, and it's just like, 'No, I'm actually good.'"

Despite their high-profile breakup, Affleck told GQ magazine in March that there was "no scandal" behind his and Lopez's divorce.

"The truth is, when you talk to somebody, 'Hey, what happened?' Well, there is no: 'This is what happened.' It's just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all sort of normally do," Affleck said at the time.

"And as you get older, this is true for me, I assume it's true for most people, there is no 'So-and-so did this' or 'This was the big event.'"

Contributing: KiMi Robinson and Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY