However, the fanfare proved thoroughly entertaining for Affleck’s kids, who have a long-standing joke of coming up with hypothetical titles for their future autobiographies.
“My daughter just turns to me,” the actor noted, “and goes, ‘J.Lo Was My Stepmother.’ I was like, ‘That’s a good title.’ Could be a lot worse than that.”
Jokes aside, Affleck also got candid about witnessing the negative effects all the media attention surrounding him, Lopez and Garner has had on their children.
“Every day I’m alive I want to make sure I’m doing the right thing by them, making their lives better,” he reflected. “And that doesn’t mean that sometimes I don’t come home and I see that they’ve gone through some bulls–t. It breaks my heart where I’m like, ‘This s–t would never happen if I wasn’t in this life.’ And it’s hard. I really, really f–king second guess it a lot.”
However, Affleck acknowledged their fame does have benefits.
“But I also know I like this life better for them than the one I had,” he added. “And that’s the balance. And I talk with Jennifer about that a lot as we look at what’s the difference between our kids lives.”
Keep reading to look back at Affleck and Lopez’s decades-long relationship. New episodes of Hart to Heart premieres Thursdays on Peacock.