Antonio Banderas Says He and His Ex Melanie Griffith Are Still ‘Best Friends’ 11 Years After Their Divorce

The couple wed in 1996 but separated nearly two decades later in 2015; however, they still remain close

Antonio Banderas is opening up about the friendly relationship that he still has with ex-wife Melanie Griffith, over a decade after their divorce.

The Hollywood stars first met at the Oscars in 1989, and sparks developed a few years later when they collaborated on the 1995 rom-com Two Much. Banderas and Griffith exchanged vows in May 1996 and welcomed their daughter, Stella Banderas (born Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith), that September. The actress is also mom to Jesse Johnson, Alexander Bauer and Dakota Johnson from previous relationships.

Griffith, 68, filed to divorce Banderas, 65, in June 2014; they finalized the separation in December of the following year.

Despite going their separate ways, the actor — who is currently starring alongside Dominic Sessa in Tony, a biopic about the late chef Anthony Bourdain — exclusively tells PEOPLE that Griffith is “if not my best friend, one of my best friends.”

He adds, “And when I go to Los Angeles, we get together anyway, we got a lot of fun. We laugh and we just… It’s a very healthy thing, and it was very healthy for our kids.”

Asked if there was a secret to their relationship staying positive all these years later, Banderas says that there’s no one answer.

“But the thing is that when we were as couple, when we separated, we were always very sincere,” he explains, adding, “We came out of our relationship in a nice way that was very important for [the kids] and for us.”

Speaking about his blended family, Banderas praises Griffith for being “an unbelievable mother.” As for their children, he says, “I see them blossoming and becoming good people.”

Banderas and Griffith reunited in public as recently as April 2026, when they were spotted arm-in-arm while out for dinner together in Los Angeles. That same month, the former couple posed together in a sweet picture with Stella and her husband, Alex Gruszynski.

Elsewhere in his conversation with PEOPLE, Banderas explains why he views his 2017 heart attack as “the best thing that ever happened in my life.”

“It was like somebody put glasses on me so I could see the reality that I didn’t see before. I was just too worried about stupid things. We sometimes forget that we are going to die,” he says. “People live like they are not going to die. They collect things and they collect. I don’t want to collect anything. I want to just experience. The only thing that I am interested in now is in the experience of living.”

Tony premieres in select theaters Friday, Aug. 7.

Via: People