Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffiths still 'best friends' 11 years after divorce

Antonio Banderas has opened up about the friendship he has with ex-wife, Melanie Griffiths.

The stars first met in 1989 but didn't become an item until 1995. They married in 1996 and had a daughter, Stella Banderas.

They split in 2014, with Griffiths, now 68, filing for divorce from Banderas, now 65. Their divorce was finalised in December 2015.

There is no bad blood between the pair though. Banderas has told how Griffiths is "if not my best friend, one of my best friends."

"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," he said in an interview with People magazine.

He admitted he doesn't believe there is just one thing that has kept their relationship positive after so many years apart.

"But the thing is that when we were a couple, when we separated, we were always very sincere," he said. "We came out of our relationship in a nice way that was very important for (the kids) and for us."

He praised Griffith for being "an unbelievable mother" to Stella, and her children from previous relationships, Jesse Johnson, Alexander Bauer and Dakota Johnson. "I see them blossoming and becoming good people," he said.

The former couple were last seen in public together in April, when they were spotted arm in arm while out for dinner in Los Angeles.