Newly-single Jennifer Lopez and her ex-fiancé Ben Affleck have reportedly been spending time together.
Multiple outlets report sightings of Ben visiting J.Lo at her place in Los Angeles on Friday – Page Six has photos of the actor riding a white Escalade that the singer allegedly owns (J.Lo was also snapped in what looks to be the same car that same day).
Sources say the two have hung out a few times over the past week.
“They have spent time together in L.A. over the past week,” a source tells PEOPLE. “They have a lot of love for each other. They have always admired each other.”
And, according to a Page Six source, “Security picks him up at a nearby location and drops him off after spending a few hours at her house.”
But before anyone gets too excited about the two of them, another source points out to Entertainment Tonight that Ben and J.Lo “are friends and have a cordial, good relationship.”
“They obviously have a romantic history, but at this point they only have a friendship,” the source says. “They both admire each other professionally, respect one another and feel comfortable with each other.”
And yet another source tells Entertainment Tonight that the two of them spending time together is totally just a friendly thing. “Jennifer and Ben have seen each other a few times since her breakup with Alex. Jen and Ben have remained friends over the years and the two are still just that – friends.”
As a refresher, Ben and J.Lo were engaged from 2002 to 2004. J.Lo has previously opened up about how Ben was “her first real heartbreak” in her 2014 memoir, True Love. “It felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest,” she shared. “People do lots of things to anesthetize themselves in moments like these. Some people do drugs, some drink and some go out and party.”
“I sought out comfort in another person, tried to find someone who could make me feel loved and wanted in my loneliest hours,” she continued. “And that was the moment when [ex-husband] Marc [Anthony] reappeared in my life.”
Still, Ben and J.Lo remained on friendly terms following the breakup. Most recently, he spoke quite highly of her during an interview for her cover story on InStyle.
“I don’t know whether people know it or not, but the most impressive thing about her (and that is a long list) was her extraordinary work ethic,” he shared with the mag. “She had this humility coupled with the basic assumption that not only did you have to work incredibly hard to succeed, you had to then push yourself even further.”
“I thought I had a good work ethic, but I was completely humbled and blown away by what she was committed to doing day in and day out, the seriousness in which she took her work, the quiet and dedicated way she went about accomplishing her goals, and then how she would go back and redouble her efforts,” he continued. “She remains, to this day, the hardest-working person I’ve come across in this business. She has great talent, but she has also worked very hard for her success, and I’m so happy for her that she seems, at long last, to be getting the credit she deserves.”
And her ageless beauty certainly did not escape his notice. “Where are you keeping the fountain of youth? Why do you look the same as you did in 2003 and it kind of looks like I’m in my 40s…at best?”
J.Lo just laughed off the compliment, replying, “Ben is funny! He still looks pretty good too.”
The sightings come just a few weeks after J.Lo and Alex Rodriguez announced that they have officially called off their engagement. “We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so. We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects,” they said in a joint statement released on April 15.
However, a source has previously told ET that it’s really not out of character for J.Lo to be in touch with her exes.
“J.Lo makes it a point to have cordial relationships, especially with Marc, since he is the father of her children,” the source said. “Jennifer and Marc have a friendship and are supportive of each other whether it comes to parenting, personal matters or their careers. They have each other’s backs.”
