Antonio Banderas Gushes That He Will ‘Always Love’ Ex-Wife Melanie Griffith: ‘She Is My Best Friend’

They may not be married anymore, but Antonio Banderas says he will always love Melanie Griffith.

“Melanie is not my wife anymore, but I think she is my best friend,” the actor, 59, told People. “I love her and will love her until the day I die. She’s my family.” The duo tied the knot in 1996, but split in 2015. They had one daughter, Stella, 23, while married. Antonio also helped raise the The Working Girl star’s other kids —  Dakota Johnson and Alexander Bauer.

“I was there because I love their mother and I am totally taken with their mother and they were the most important part of what she came with,” Antonio explained to the outlet. “Very soon they understood that. They called me Paponio, a mixture between Papa and Antonio.” In fact, The Mask of Zorro star even recalls how much the pair did for their children.

“Melanie decided to stay home when I was working outside the United States to give them the life they deserve to have like everybody else,” the A-lister recalled. “It was not fair for them just to be traveling all around the world. I think now that it was very interesting because they knew other realities.”

While Antonio now finds himself in London with his girlfriend Nicole Kimpel, his priority will of course always be his loved ones. “My family is in Los Angeles,” he said. “I love to see them.”

It should come as no surprise that Antonio and Melanie still have a fantastic relationship. In fact, she is close with her other two partners — Don Johnson and Steven Bauer — as well. “All of my husbands, my three husbands — I love them all so much, and we’re all very close,” she once told InStyle. However, don’t expect her to walk down the aisle a fourth time.

“I really don’t think it’s relevant for anyone anymore. But especially if you’re 60 and you have four kids and you’re living the life you’ve always wanted. Then why get married?” Melanie said during the same interview. “It’s, like, I would love to fall in love and have a romance, a relationship, but I haven’t. I keep looking. I’ve had a couple of lovers but not a relationship.”

We’re just glad to hear how much love there still is in this family!