Ben Affleck “reached out” to Jennifer Lopez “as a friend” after her split from Alex Rodriguez

An insider said: "Ben reached out to Jennifer as a friend. He was basically checking up on her. He was single and thought she might be single, too."

Ben – who is father to Violet, 15, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, nine, whom he has with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner – reportedly contacted Jennifer after hearing she had split from Alex, but she later announced she was “working through some things” with the baseball star.

She then eventually parted ways from Alex for good in April.

The source added to People magazine: "It was in no way disrespectful, because he really thought she wasn't with Alex anymore.”

Meanwhile, it was recently reported the ‘Hustlers’ star speaks to Ben “every day” after they spent time together in Montana last week.

Another insider said: "[Jennifer] is in touch with Ben every day. They are making plans to see each other. Jennifer is still very excited about how things are going with Ben."

Jennifer, 51, is also thought to be in a “different place” since the last time she was romantically involved with 48-year-old Ben.

A third source said: "It doesn't seem possible that [Jennifer] would ever get back with Alex, but I can't say that about Ben. Time has passed, and they are each in a different place with children.”

Jennifer – who has 13-year-old twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony – reportedly wants to spend “as much time as possible” with Ben, but sources insist they aren’t rushing into anything just yet.

The source added: “She wants to spend as much time with Ben as possible to see where this could go. They are certainly not making any plans about the future."