Why Ben Affleck Doesn't Regret Starring In 'Gigli' With Jennifer Lopez

Ben Affleck has no regrets about starring in the box office flop "Gigli" because it helped him discover the two loves of his life.

Affleck, 49, met Jennifer Lopez, 52, on the set of the 2003 Martin Brest-directed film. "Gigli," which had a $75 million budget, ended up grossing just $7.2 million at the box office worldwide, but the Oscar winner still believes that being part of the movie ultimately proved to be a blessing in disguise.

"I did get to meet Jennifer, the relationship with whom has been really meaningful to me in my life," said Affleck, who was interviewed by best friend Matt Damon for Entertainment Weekly.

The "Justice League" star also said that he would have never gotten into directing had he not suffered a total fail with the film.

"If the reaction to 'Gigli' hadn't happened, I probably wouldn't have ultimately decided, 'I don’t really have any other avenue but to direct movies,' which has turned out to be the real love of my professional life," he said.

But though it ended up being a box-office bomb, Affleck, who has since helmed critically acclaimed films such as "Argo" and "Gone Baby Gone," said he learned a lot about directing through "Gigli."

"Interestingly, I learned more about directing on that movie than anything else because Marty is a brilliant director, really gifted," he explained. "It's not like it's worse than all... there's a bunch of horrible movies and in terms of losing money, I've had five movies — at least! — that have lost more money than Gigli has."

Lopez and Affleck began dating after playing on-screen love interests in the film. They got engaged in November 2002 but called off their engagement two years later after hitting a rocky patch in their relationship.

Lopez went on to marry Marc Anthony, with whom she shares 13-year-old twins Max and Emme. They divorced in 2011.

Affleck married Jennifer Garner, with whom he shares daughters Violet, 16, and Seraphina, 13, and son Samuel, 9. They separated in 2015, and their divorce was finalized three years later.

Lopez and Affleck rekindled their romance in April 2021 after she called off her engagement to Alex Rodriguez, and they have been going strong ever since.

The singer-actress recently shared that she wants to be the "best partner" to Affleck while discussing her resolutions for the year in an Instagram video posted Monday.

"[I want] to be the best mother I can be, the best partner I can be, the best friend I can be — the best daughter, sister, boss, person that I can be," Lopez said.