Prior to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s relationship starting back up last year and their recent marriage, the Justice League actor and Ana De Armas dated for nearly a year after working together on the thriller Deep Water. To say that the two stars got quite a bit of attention while they were an item would be an understatement. Now, De Armas has recently addressed the added public attention she received while with Affleck by sharing her honest thoughts on the period of her life.
Affleck and De Armas reportedly dated from early 2020 to early 2021. During their relationship, the Blonde actress was frequently the subject of paparazzi desires, often during casual dog walks in their Los Angeles neighborhoods. While De Armas shared that being with Affleck wasn’t the first time she was followed by paparazzi, that situation was particularly uncomfortable to her. In De Armas’ words:
I have never been someone that wants any attention that’s not about my work. So when the attention is not about my work, it is upsetting, and it feels disrespectful, and it feels inappropriate, and it feels dangerous and unsafe. But, especially in this country, I don’t know how you can find protection. I don’t know how you can stop that from happening, other than leaving.
During her interview with Variety, Ana De Armas got candid on her feelings about the added attention she received while dating Ben Affleck. Prior to becoming a Hollywood star, her career began in Spain and she recalled having press and paparazzi after her then; however, becoming attached to one of the biggest actors in the world must have been a whole new level of being in the spotlight. Following the Deep Water stars’ breakup, De Armas moved to New York, in part to avoid swarming photographers, as she has shared prior.
Interestingly enough, De Armas’ experience dating Ben Affleck fed into her latest role of Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. While speaking about her unwanted media attention, the actress also said that it was “one of the things” that brought her “closer” to tapping into the late Hollywood actress and her state of mind. Monroe was often seen as an object by the industry in spite of her acting talent in movies such as Some Like It Hot and The Seven Year Itch.
Ana De Armas completely transformed into Marilyn Monroe for Blonde, so much so that when she first was in full costume on set, she recalls the room “crying” and feeling as if the starlet had returned to be among the living. Blonde, which received a rare NC-17 rating, has received mixed reviews by critics and audiences alike. The key criticism the movie has received is the opinion by many that the movie itself is exploitative toward the late Monroe, including with the movie’s many nude scenes of De Armas.
Blonde will be available to stream with a Netflix subscription on September 28.
