Ana de Armas Admits Ben Affleck Romance Made Her Leave L.A.: It Was ‘Too Much’

Leaving her past behind. Ana de Armas admitted that her high-profile relationship with Ben Affleck made her leave Los Angeles. The Knives Out actress said that the media attention was “too much.”

“That’s one of the reasons why I left L.A.,” Ana, 34, said of the constant paparazzi that followed her and Ben, 49, in Elle’s August 2022 cover story.

The Blonde actress said she witnessed how some of her friends navigated life in the public eye during her seven years in the California city, though admitted experiencing it firsthand made her realize her true feelings about where she was living.

“This is not the place for me to be,” she recalled telling herself. “It became a little bit too much. There’s no escape. There’s no way out.”

Ana also revealed that L.A. made her feel “anxious,” noting that there is “always the feeling of something that you don’t have, something missing.”

The Deep Water costars dated during the coronavirus pandemic and they even quarantined together. The pair were regularly photographed taking their dogs out for a walk and during coffee runs.

After almost a year of dating, the Cuba native and The Last Duel actor called it quits in January 2021.

“Ana ended the relationship. Ana still cares for Ben, but she can’t see a future with him. It wasn’t working and they weren’t on the same page,” a source exclusively told In Touch at the time. “They’re on amicable terms and still talk, but it’s over.”

Following their split, Ana began a relationship with Tinder executive Paul Boukadakis. It’s not clear where the Knock Knock actress currently lives, though her beau splits his time between Santa Monica, California and Texas.

Meanwhile, Ben rekindled his romance with Jennifer Lopez in April 2021. The pair originally got engaged in November 2002, though split in January 2004.

After the Good Will Hunting actor and Marry Me star, 52, reunited, they fell head over heels in love for a second time and became engaged in April.

“Saturday night while at my favorite place on earth [in the bubble bath], my beautiful love got on one knee and proposed,” J. Lo revealed about the proposal via her onthejlo.com newsletter on April 12.

The mother of two added that she was “taken totally off guard” by Ben’s sweet way of asking her to be his wife.

“[I] just looked in his eyes smiling and crying at the same time trying hard to get my head around the fact that after 20 years this was happening all over again,” she wrote in a piece titled “How It Went Down.” Jennifer added, “I was quite literally speechless, and he said, ‘Is that a yes?’ I said, ‘YES of course that’s a YES.’”