Ben & Gwyneth's relationship in picturesDuring an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Gwyneth Paltrow opened up about her three-year romance with Ben Affleck in the late 90s.
While it is often reported that they met at the premiere of
Good Will Hunting in late 1997, Paltrow revealed they were already a couple, having met months earlier at a Miramax dinner.
Stern asked Paltrow whether her parents were disappointed by her eventual split with Affleck:
"I think [my parents] appreciated that he's super intelligent, and really, really talented. And he's funny. But he wasn't in a good place in his life to have a girlfriend. They loved him but they were okay with us not being a couple. I like him. I'm friends with him still." Stern reminded Paltrow that she once joked with Affleck in a joint interview that his ideal date was "
any sort of stripper at Scores." (In the same interview, Affleck said that Paltrow's dream guy would be someone like her father.)
Paltrow responded: "That was true at the time. But he's settled down and
his wife [Jennifer Garner] is awesome. Not only is she beautiful, she's so warm, and she cooks, and is so into her kids. She's really great and she's hilarious. I had a girls' dinner before the summer and she came over. She's my neighbour. I really like her a lot."The relationship in quotes
2000
"
Ben is affable and charming and people are sort of drawn to him. He's disarmingly quick, fiercely intelligent and, in some ways, an underachiever. Ben had a difficult childhood, but not a nightmarish one. He loves both his parents dearly. Though Ben had almost perfect SAT scores in high school, his grades varied wildly depending on his attendance and level of interest.
There's a huge chasm between the public and the private Bens. In quiet moments, Jocular Ben transforms into Contemplative Ben. He's not vulnerable right away; it takes ages to get to that part of him. I like him in all his incarnations.''
late 2000
After the Paltrow-Affleck break-up in 1999, they maintained an unusually close relationship, with Paltrow persauding Affleck to co-star with her in the romantic drama
Bounce: "
I've always had this ongoing dialgoue with Ben about doing stuff that required more of him. When I see something like Armageddon and see him just not connecting, I get sort of like, 'Yeah, you're charming... but it's not what you're capable of.'"
"I don't undertand people's fasination [with our relationship]," continued Paltrow. "
If we're in the same city, we go out. We're close. Sometimes when I'm in LA, I stay at his house. But it's not like people think it is. We are not together.
We have another kind of happy ending in our case, which is that we have a friendship. I love his family, even more than I love him. So that's a good thing.""
We didn't have one of those horrible acrimonious break-ups. The good thing is that we maintained this friendship. I have a sort of brotherly feeling towards him.
I want him to do well and grow up and be a happy person and a fully realised man and feel good about himself, so when I read the script I thought, "Ben has to do this film. It would be really good for him to have something where he has to really sink his teeth in and concentrate and expand." I mean, everyone thought, 'Don't do this. You're making a real mistake. It's going to be a drama.' My father was like, 'Oh, God!' I don't think he actually vocalised anything but I saw that look: "This is a mistake." But it couldn't have been better.
We're so fond of each other and we have such a nice rapport between us. It wasn't difficult at all. People just deal with things in different ways."2003
Gwyneth on Bennifer: "
Ben makes life tough for himself. He's got a lot of complication, and you know, he really is a great guy. So I hope he sorts himself out."
2004
Ben responds to Gwyneth's comments in a
Rolling Stone interview: ""
She's probably right about that. I trust her opinion about most things. Not all, but most. I think I probably do get in my own way."
2012
In an interview with
The Hollywood Reporter,
Affleck revealed he was still in contact with both Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez.November 28, 1997 - Leaving Shutters Hotel in LA
December 4, 1997 - Good Will Hunting premiere
January 1998 - Weekend at Camp David with the Clintons
January 16, 1998 - Sundance Film Festival
January 18, 1998 - Golden Globes
January 20, 1998 - Great Expectations premiere
March 12, 1998 - London premiere of Good Will Hunting
April 21, 1998 - Sliding Doors premiere in New York
Unknown date, 1998
Unknown date, 1998
June 30, 1998 - Armegeddon premiere
Unknown date, 1998 - In Ischia during the filming of The Talented Mr Ripley
Unknown date
October 13, 1998 - Christian Dior show in Paris
October 1998 - Georgio Armani show in Milan
October 18, 1998 - arriving at LAX
Unknown date, 1998
Unknown date, October 1998 - at LAX
December 3, 1998 - Shakespeare in Love's New York premiere
(with Ben's mother Chris)
December 8, 1998 - Shakespeare in Love's LA premiere
December 12, 1998
December 14, 1998 - LAX
January 24, 1999 - Golden Globe Awards
February 6, 1999 - SNL
Gwyneth's monologue with a Ben cameoMarch 7, 1998 - Screen Actors Guild Awards
March 21, 1999 - Academy Awards
August 6, 1999 - in LA
September 29, 1999 - in Paris
November 12, 1999 - Dogma premiere
December 12, 1999 - Talented Mr Ripley premiere in LA
December 14, 1999 - Talented Mr Ripley premiere in New York
January 20, 2000 - Golden Globe Awards
February 19, 2000 - SNL
March 22, 2000 - Los Angeles
March 25, 2000 - Miramax Pre-Oscar party
March 26, 2000 - Vanity Fair Oscar party
May 6, 2000 - Leaving Boston's Four Seasons Hotel with Ben's mother before watching Ben speak at the Living Wage protest at Harvard University
November 17, 2000 - Bounce premiere
Bounce stills
Bounce publicity shots
October 6, 2002 - Affleck attends a memorial service for Bruce Paltrow at Michael's Restaraunt in New York
2004 - ShoWest Awards in Las Vegas
September 18, 2005 - Ben Affleck talks to Gwyneth's mother Blythe Danner at the Primetime Emmy Awards
October 16 2007 - Jake Paltrow at the premiere of Affeck's Gone Baby Gone
SOURCESInterview:
Howard Stern ShowPictures:
gwyneth-paltrow.org,
gwynethpaltrow.com.br,
gwynethpaltrowfan.com,
ichiaqhotels, campdavidblog,
newscom