Ben Affleck Hopes to Be a "Good Husband" to Jennifer Lopez

Ben Affleck feels confident that his marriage to Jennifer Lopez is on the cards, by the sound of things.

In a new interview with WSJ. Magazine, the actor spoke about what has changed for him in recent years—and why his renewed relationship with Lopez has come at the right time.

"Fear drove me to the work ethic," he said (via ELLE). "Only in the last four years have I been able to not be so terrified, because I recognize I won’t die without work. The most important thing is being a good father. The second most important thing is to be a good man. And a good person. And, ostensibly, you know, a good husband. Hopefully."

Asked about his relationship with J.Lo, Affleck explained that he has to be strict about what he does and doesn't share with the world these days. "You can write conjecture about it, but one of the harder lessons that I have learned is that it’s not wise to share everything with the world," he said.

To put that in context, excessive media attention was one of the main reasons the couple originally broke up back in 2004, so it's hardly surprising that Affleck now feels the need to protect his relationship from prying eyes.

"There are some things which are private and intimate and have meaning in terms of their intimacy by dint of the fact that they’re not shared with the rest of the world," he explained. "I’m more comfortable just learning to find a boundary between things that I want to share and things that I don’t. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. I don’t. I know that I feel more comfortable having those healthy boundaries in my life around which, in a friendly and straightforward way, I tell you, I just don’t want to be talking about my personal relationship in the newspaper. I’m going to exercise a little restraint."

Affleck then spoke about second chances in various contexts. "I am very lucky in my life in that I have benefited from second chances, and I am aware that other people don’t even get first chances," he said. "I’ve had second chances in my career. I’ve had second chances as a human being. Life is difficult, and we are always failing and hopefully learning from those failures. The one thing you really need to avail yourself of the opportunities provided from that growth is the second chance. I’ve definitely tried to take advantage of that. I haven’t always been successful, but in cases in which I have, they’ve turned out to be the defining aspects of my life. But tell your wife to imagine the best story, and I’m sure that’s the true version."