Ben Affleck praised ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez as the “hardest-working person” in showbiz, 17 years after their split.

Affleck, 48, and Lopez, 51, got engaged in 2002 and were one of the most talked about couples in Hollywood before they broke up in 2004.

The Batman actor contributed to an InStyle magazine feature on the Hustlers star and praised her work ethic.

Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez’s ex-partners were full of praise for her in a new magazine feature (Jennifer Graylock/PA)

He said: “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.

“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 Affleck joked about Lopez’s famously youthful appearance.

Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck was full of praise for his ex-partner Jennifer Lopez (Ian West/PA)

“Where are you keeping the fountain of youth?” he asked. “Why do you look the same as you did in 2003 and it kind of looks like I’m in my 40s…at best?”

Lopez, a chart-topping singer and Golden Globe-nominated actress, was also praised by another former partner – ex-husband Marc Anthony.

They share 13-year-old twins Max and Emme.

Anthony, an American singer, echoed Affleck’s comments.

He told InStyle:  “She’s the first one in the room and the last to leave. The hardest worker I’ve ever met. When we were together, it was quite the opposite for me. That has changed since. I learned so much from her. She’s the original!”