Even though the relationship between JLo and Ben Affleck ended long ago, Ben Affleck still recalls how negatively their relationship was treated by the press and general public..

 Lopez and Affleck got engaged in 2002, but postponed their 2003 wedding barely days before they were set to walk down the aisle.

He said in an interview, Ben reflects on how his love affair with JLo was treated. He thinks the publications made about them hurt their relationship. In a recent interview he said:

“People were so f—- mean about her — sexist, racist. Ugly, vicious s— was written about her in ways that if you wrote it now you would literally be fired for saying those things you said,” Affleck said during the podcast. “Now it’s like, she’s lionized and respected for the work she did, where she came from, what she accomplished — as well she f—– should be! I would say you have a better shot, coming from the Bronx, of ending up as like [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor on the Supreme Court than you do of having Jennifer Lopez’s career and being who she is at 50 years old today.”

Ben went on to say:

“You know, there’s always a story of the month, and me dating Jennifer Lopez happened to be that tabloid story at the time when that business grew exponentially. Still, to this day, [some] will go, ‘I see you out there in the paparazzi and the pictures!’ It’s like, ‘Yes, I left my house and took out the trash. It’s not like I’m trying to—’ And it’s still like, ‘You were taking a pap walk!’ As if, if you leave your house, you’re only doing so in the hope that you could be so lucky that you could end up as the sixth item in The Daily Mail. It’s absurd!”

Ben Affleck and Lopez have remained on good terms since their 2004 split, and he’s still angered over the nasty tone of reporting at the time.