Antonio Banderas Reveals He Still Talks to Ex-Wife Melanie Griffith All the Time: She’s ‘Family’

Making it work. Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith still have a close relationship, despite their 2015 divorce. In fact, the Desperado star said they speak all the time, and Melanie, 62, will always be a part of his “family.”

“The life I had with Melanie was beautiful. We had 20 wonderful years during which we gave our best and lived wonderful moments that I will not forget. We had a wonderful daughter that we both love and that is the end result of our relationship, the most beautiful thing we have ever done together,” Antonio, 59, said on El Break de las 7. “And even though we are separated legally, she is still my family. When I go to Los Angeles, I visit her and just yesterday we were talking on the phone. Everything happens naturally.”

Antonio and Melanie share their 23-year-old daughter, Stella Banderas, who is known for playing Marilyn in Crazy in Alabama. Even though the pair couldn’t make their relationship work, they still do what’s best for their child.

“I think we are both reluctant to bury 20 years of marriage. We are human beings, we make mistakes and that is the human condition. You have to leave the egos aside and not want to prove that you are right or find who’s guilty of what,” the Mask of Zorro star explained. “Because it may be both or neither of you. There is a moment when things are over and you have to accept it.”

After their marriage ended, Antonio found love again with girlfriend Nicole Kimpel, who he met in 2014, and Melanie started “dating occasionally,” a source told Closer Weekly in December 2019. But that doesn’t mean the Lolita star will tie the knot again. She will “definitely not get married,” the insider noted. Although the two are friends, Melanie did take their separation pretty hard.

“She’s sad that [it] didn’t work out,” another insider previously revealed. “They are friends because of their daughter Stella. But she feels profoundly truly sad that [that] marriage didn’t last.” Although it didn’t work out, Melanie and Antonio still managed to become close pals.

“Melanie is not my wife anymore, but I think she is my best friend,” the actor told People in October 2019. “I love her and will love her until the day I die.”