Ana de Armas Says She Left L.A. After Breaking Up With Ben Affleck

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It's tough enough to deal with a breakup when it comes to deciding who gets to keep which restaurants and coffee shops (not to mention friends and all the things people seem to collect when they're together), but Ana de Armas says that after her relationship with Ben Affleck ran its course, she ran away from Los Angeles. In a new interview with Elle magazine, she said that getting hounded by the paparazzi was part of why she left, but she also noted that the city made her feel uneasy.

She explained that it was a "bit too much" to be around the energy of L.A., whether it was because of being trailed by photographers or because everyone seemed to be on high alert. She called the realization a blessing in disguise, saying that while the situation was "horrible," it let her come to the conclusion to get away from Southern California.

"Which is good," she says of the clarity that came with deciding to flee the city. "That's one of the reasons why I left L.A."

"Going through it [myself] confirmed my thoughts about, 'This is not the place for me to be,'" she elaborated. "It became a little bit too much. There's no escape. There's no way out. [In Los Angeles], it's always the feeling of something that you don't have, something missing. It's a city that keeps you anxious."

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De Armas now lives in New York City with her boyfriend, Paul Boukadakis. They met in December 2021 after she and Affleck (who starred alongside her in 2022's Deep Water) officially broke up in January of the same year.

"Ben and Ana have split up. They had little arguments and bickered like any couple but ultimately the relationship just wasn't working in the way they both wanted it to anymore," a source told Entertainment Tonight at the time. "This was a mutual decision."

"They both have a lot of love and respect for each other, but it was time for them to move on," the source continued. "At the end of the day, he chose to be the dad he continues to want to be. Unfortunately, they are in different places in their lives."