Sometimes the hardest part of a breakup is the friendships you stand to lose as collateral damage. However, for Jennifer Lopez and Matt Damon, the best friend of her ex-husband, Ben Affleck, that doesn’t seem to be a problem. Not only do they continue to work together, but they have made sure to remain good friends behind the scenes too.

Last September, two weeks after Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck after a whirlwind two-year marriage, she and Damon were photographed having a DMC (deep, meaningful conversation) at the Toronto International Film Festival. They both attended the afterparty of their film, Unstoppable, and were pictured sat on the floor, holding hands and having a heart to heart.

It is, ironically, one of the Hollywood contingent’s more relatable portraits. Who hasn’t bumped into the friend of an ex, or the ex of a friend, on a night out and been dragged aside for a debrief at some stage in their lives? It’s almost a rite of passage in the breakup process. At the time, a source told People that Lopez is ‘very close with Matt’ and ‘enjoyed spending time with him’ at the afterparty in Toronto. An eyewitness claimed they were chatting for 20 minutes, which is fairly brief by most drunken ex-chat standards.

However, the photos did more than the remind us that A-listers are not exempt from these beleaguered conversations, or that Affleck and Lopez’s divorce had real consequences, it reminded us that Lopez and Damon have their own friendship. It might not be as strong as Affleck and Damon’s bond – who have been friends since childhood and burst onto the scene together in 1997 co-starring in and co-writing their Oscar-winning debut, Good Will Hunting – but it still exists.

Affleck and Damon were, and still are, thought of as a Hollywood duo, even if they work together more often behind the scenes than in front of the camera these days. Any friendship that spans four decades is likely to mean they have both grown close to each other’s partners as well. While Affleck and Lopez didn’t reunite until 2021 or get married until 2022, they famously first dated between 2002 and 2004 after meeting on the set of Gigli. They got engaged in 2002 before calling off the wedding two years later and ultimately parting ways.

This means when they reunited 20 years later, in many ways Lopez reunited with Damon too. When asked about the exes getting back together in 2021, Damon told Extra: ‘I’m just so happy for him. He’s the best. He deserves every happiness in the world. I’m glad for both of them.’ The actor was in attendance at their wedding in Riceboro, Georgia, the following summer, and regularly hung out with the couple along with his wife Luciana Barroso.

However, Lopez and Damon’s friendship did not only exist through Affleck. They have also worked together and continue to do so. Lopez starred in Affleck and Damon’s film, Unstoppable, last year, but she is also set to feature in Kiss of the Spider Woman later this year, which is a musical drama produced by Damon and written and directed by Bill Condon. Lopez stars in the titular role and is apparently gunning for awards season already. An insider close to both stars tells us, ‘No matter how things ended between her and Ben, this film is a passion project for Matt and Jennifer, they’re going to see it through to the bitter end and they’re both going to fight to get her into the Best Supporting actress race.’ The pursuit of great art trumps any tension between the exes and their mutual friend, the source added. ‘In success, everybody benefits, including Matt’s business partner Ben.’

While some have labelled Damon and Lopez’s ongoing friendship ‘unusual’ or even ‘suspicious’, it seems to be neither of those things. Even when they were pictured holding hands, it’s more than likely they were discussing Affleck. Only a week before were Damon, his wife and their three children spotted out for dinner with Affleck anyway, so he was probably just playing the role of middleman.

Having been happily married to Barroso since 2005, Damon has managed to keep his personal life largely out of the spotlight and has spoken openly about how he would struggle to live with Affleck’s level of fame. Speaking on the Radio Times podcast last year alongside his The Instigators co-star and Affleck’s younger brother, Casey Affleck, he said: ‘I’ve been really lucky in that way… especially when I look at Casey’s brother, Ben. I can’t imagine living under that kind of scrutiny.’

Noting that it’s been that way since the early noughties, even before Affleck and Lopez first dated, he continued: ‘And it’s been like that for 25 years, and we’ve had parallel careers in a lot of ways, so I’m fortunate to have been kind of excused from that part of fame.’

Damon clearly has discretion down to a fine art and knows how to keep his personal friendships with both exes private – and his working relationships with both of them functioning too. Whether that will continue once Affleck and Lopez eventually move on with new partners is another question, but they are all moving in the right direction.

Given that Lopez and Affleck’s divorce was easily one of the biggest showbiz stories of 2024, the aftermath has been fairly drama-free. The divorce itself was handled swiftly and amicably, without any salacious tell-all interviews or financial fallouts, and they appear to have joint custody of their mutual friends. Who knows, perhaps that drunken DMC with Damon was pivotal after all. It’s always our best friends who have out best interests at heart.