Jennifer Lopez reconnects with estranged BFF Leah Remini as they 'bond over shared experience' of divorce

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jennifer Lopez and Leah Remini's respective divorces have had one silver lining: the former best friends "reconnected recently" and rekindled their friendship "over the shared experience."

Once best friends, the two actresses were reported to have fallen out over Lopez's relationship with Ben Affleck because Remini thought the 'Air' actor was "selfish and not fully committed as a partner."

Leah Remini and Jennifer Lopez reconnect after parting ways over Ben Affleck

Remini and her spouse, Angelo Pagan, recently declared their separation, saying they had "changed" but would still be "best friends," following 21 years of marriage.

Remini, 54, and Lopez, 55, were believed to have put their differences aside and restored their friendship over the course of their respective divorces, having kept their distance for the previous two years.

The singer, who filed for divorce from Affleck on August 20, and the 'Kevin Can Wait' star had a "long heart-to-heart" conversation that the actresses "couldn't believe they were both in the middle of a divorce."

"JLo and Leah reconnected recently," an insider revealed to Us Weekly, adding that the reconnection occurred following Lopez's filing for divorce from Affleck last month.

The insider noted, "Leah and JLo bonded over the shared experience. And are in the beginning of rekindling their friendship."

Tensions between the two developed after Lopez learned the 'Kevin Can Wait' star expressed her concern to her about rekindling her romance with Affleck at the time "because he is selfish and is not fully committed as a partner."

The 'On The Floor' hitmaker, however, was "so mad" after the altercation that she decided to "cut off all ties" with Remini. The duo initially got estranged when the 'Kevin Can Wait' star failed to show up for the singer's wedding with Affleck.

Adding fuel to the fire, Remini's friend Michelle Visage made hints that the two were no longer friends when asked if they were still best friends, per Daily Mail.

Jennifer Lopez and Leah Remini 'have each other to lean on' amid respective divorces

The former best friends had a tight relationship for years before to their reported breakdown in 2022. Years of tight friendship between the singer and the actress were shattered when Lopez got back together with Affleck.

The 'King of Queens' alum was conspicuously missing from the couple's Georgia wedding, and the two had ceased communicating entirely.

However, an insider revealed that Remini got in touch with the singer a few months ago after learning that Lopez and Affleck were experiencing marital issues.

"Jennifer wanted her friend’s support. However, Leah saw the writing on the wall and straight out told her marrying Ben was a bad idea," the insider spilled to In Touch Weekly.

As it turned out, Remini's marriage to Angelo Pagan was not going well either. Not long after Lopez filed for divorce, Remini also announced her separation in August.

The insider added, "Ironically, the timing couldn’t have been better. Now, they have each other to lean on."

Remini had contacted and given Lopez support, but she had no intention of telling "told you so," a source told Page Six in late May.

Jennifer Lopez and Leah Remini met in 2004

Remini and Lopez crossed paths on the red carpet in 2004, while Lopez was dating Marc Anthony. Remini admitted to Entertainment Tonight in 2018, "So, we went to the premiere hoping she was gonna be ugly in real life."

Remini added at the time, "And then, when I was approaching her, I was like, ‘I hope it’s the lighting. Maybe she just looks good in here,’ and as I got closer I was like, ‘Oh damn, there’s a lot of light right here and she looks really pretty.’"

Remini remembered questioning Lopez then about her amazing beauty. "I said, ‘Why the f**k? Why are you so f**king pretty?’ And she laughed."

"Then I was like, ‘Ugh, I hope she’s dumb,’ ya know? I was like, ‘She could be dumb!’ I wanted to find something [wrong with her] and I didn’t," she recalled.

Their shared sense of humor ultimately led to the friendship between the two. Remini stated, "The fact that I could bust her balls and she wasn’t caught up on herself, said something to me."

It was "one of those instant chemistry things," Lopez claimed to the publication, that made the deal go through. "She’s cool and we also have very similar upbringings. That’s why we work well together," the singer remarked of Remini at the time.

The duo, who acted in the romantic comedy 'Second Act,' also opened up about their bond during a previous joint appearance on 'The View.'

"We're very close, like sisters are. But in a different way that sisters are," Remini said on the show, per Us Weekly.

Lopez added, "We understand each other's lives. We have similar lives and similar careers, and we understand nuances that other people don't understand, so that also bonded us."