Antonio Banderas shared a heartwarming family photo from a reunion in Los Angeles with his ex-wife Melanie Griffith and their daughter Stella, and his caption said it all about how the former couple chose to handle life post-divorce.
The 65-year-old actor posted the snap to Instagram on Monday, April 27, showing himself beaming alongside Stella, 29, Griffith, 68, and Stella’s husband Alex Gruszynski.
Banderas leaned toward his daughter as she threw her head back laughing, while Griffith and Stella held hands and Gruszynski rested his head on Griffith’s shoulder.
“A lovely and fun time yesterday in LA with my son-in-law Alex, my daughter Stella and my ex-wife and lifelong friend, Melanie,” Banderas wrote in his caption.
The warmth of the message reflects a dynamic that Banderas has spoken about openly for years.
In 2018 he said PEOPLE: “Even though we are divorced, she is my family and I will love her until the day I die. We have been in contact all these years and we managed to have a very elegant separation.”
He added at the time that keeping things harmonious for their children had always been the priority.
“Our kids enjoy it and it’s very important to both of us. Our kids are the No. 1 priority.”
Griffith, for her part, also spoke warmly about staying close to the men she loved. “I love them with all my heart,” she said in 2020.
Banderas and Griffith first met at the 1989 Oscars and reconnected on the set of Two many in 1995.
They married the following year and welcomed Stella before Griffith filed for divorce in 2014, citing irreconcilable differences.
The divorce was finalized in 2015. Banderas has remained close not only to Griffith but also to her daughter Dakota Johnson, whom she shares with ex-husband Don Johnson.
