Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck have been friends for 30 years, since they filmed Smith’s movie Mallrats in 1994. Kevin is also permanently a (small) part of Ben and Jennifer Lopez’s backstory, thanks to Jersey Girl flopping so hard on the heels of Gigli. Nevertheless, Kevin is still friendly with both of Bennifer 1.0. Kevin and his wife, Jennifer Schwalbach, were even guests at their Georgia wedding in August 2022. Since Kevin also loves to gossip, People recently caught up with Kevin and asked him for his thoughts on Lopez and Affleck’s divorce. He responded by saying that he’s as heartbroken as any other fan that was rooting for those two kids to finally make it work.

Kevin Smith has nothing but love for Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez during their divorce. The 4:30 Movie writer-director tells PEOPLE that his longtime friend and collaborator Affleck, 52, is “one of my favorite people on the planet,” and Lopez, 55, is “wonderful too.”

“And if they’re not going forward, that breaks my heart and stuff, but I’ve always adored him,” says Smith, 54, of Affleck.

Lopez filed for divorce on Aug. 20, which marked the second anniversary of their traditional wedding ceremony in Georgia. She and Affleck initially married in Las Vegas on July 17, 2022. Affleck and Smith go way back, with the two-time Oscar winner first having appeared in Smith’s Mallrats (1995), followed by Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and more, including 2004’s Jersey Girl alongside Lopez.

Smith was even present at Affleck and Lopez’s wedding celebration in Georgia — as was their friend and longtime collaborator on several of Smith’s films, Jason Mewes.

The Clerks auteur managed to pull together a pristine version of his signature look that stuck to the color scheme: a backward baseball cap, blazer, vest, T-shirt and shorts, all in white. He and Mewes (a.k.a. the Jay to his Silent Bob), 50, attended along with their respective wives Jennifer Schwalbach Smith and Jordan Monsanto.

“For those who say ‘He always wears the same outfit … ‘ @JenSchwalbach, @JordanMonsanto, @JayMewes & me, all cleaned up,” Smith wrote with the photo on X (formerly Twitter). “This is as formal as I’ve been dressed since maybe my First Communion when I was 7.”

Asked about Affleck and Lopez’s breakup, Smith says his wife Jennifer, 53, suggested he reach out to his friend, but Smith feels like “that would be very threatening.”

“That guy right now. He’d be like, ‘Oh my God, Kevin Smith with his loose lips,’ ” he says, joking that he is Affleck’s “least trustworthy friend on the planet.”

While he hasn’t spoken to Affleck since last year, Smith tells PEOPLE, “I’m sure I’ll run into him again. Of course, there’s always something that I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I need a movie star. Let’s call Ben.'”

[From People]

Aww, Kevin, he’s just like us! We’ve heard a lot from JLo’s camp about how much they didn’t like Ben but I think this is the first we’re hearing from a mutual (Ben-leaning) friend declaring his disappointment. Interesting, but they clearly went to the right source. I love Kevin and like that he’s self-aware and self-deprecating enough to recognize that he likes to talk. I used to listen to Smodcast waaaaay back in the day when it first came out and yes, that man has the gift for gab. I’ve always had the impression that his and Ben’s friendship is either much quieter than they let on or that the media has blown it up to be much bigger than it actually is. I’m leaning towards the latter, but clearly, whatever Kevin has said about Ben publicly hasn’t been a deal breaker because they do still work together.

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