Rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs recently made headlines with shocking allegations of human trafficking and a trail of sexual assaults stretching back three decades.
But rewind to the early noughties, and the hip-hop star was garnering attention with a fiery romance alongside Bronx music royalty.
Once upon a time, Diddy – known then as “Puff Daddy” – was involved with none other than Jennifer Lopez. While today, JLo’s romantic saga revolves around her husband Ben Affleck, a drama spanning decades and several divorces, their affair pales in comparison to the tempestuous whirlwind of Diddy and JLo’s union.
From 1999 to 2001, JLo and Diddy, 54, sizzled on the scene. The Latina sensation, riding high after the box office triumph of Selena, crossed paths with Diddy during the making of her debut album “On The 6.” Sparks flew as Diddy lent his talents to co-write and produce her hit track “Feelin’ So Good,” igniting a fiery romance in the process.
Rumour has it, Diddy’s influence extended beyond the studio, securing JLo, 54, the coveted arrangement for If You Had My Love from composer Rodney Jenkins, despite it originally being earmarked for another artist.
Their love affair blazed across red carpets for years, showcasing iconic Y2K ensembles that lit up headlines. Who could forget their coordinated white threads at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards or JLo’s jaw-dropping green Versace gown at the 2000 Grammys, forever immortalized in the annals of fashion history?
But like any tale of passion, trouble soon brewed in paradise. While Lopez preferred the comfort of home, Diddy’s love for the nightlife threatened to dim their flame.
At the time, the New York Post quoted an anonymous source as saying, “She wanted to end it for a long time, but she wanted to do it gracefully – especially with a guy like that, with his bad temper and high profile.”
Indeed, Diddy’s temper and hard partying proved to be too much. In her 2024 documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, JLo recalled a past abusive relationship where she had been “manhandled” and “thrown around”.
Though she did not name anyone specifically, recent allegations against Diddy led fans to speculate that the ex in question was the Bad Boy Records founder.
In December 1999, the couple were at Club New York in Times Square, when Diddy reportedly got into a heated argument with fellow clubbers that led to gunfire.
Diddy then took off with Lopez and got involved in a high-speed car chase with the police. Once the police apprehended them, they found a stolen and loaded 9mm semiautomatic in the car. All parties involved got arrested.
In a 2000 Elle magazine interview, JLo described the ordeal as a “complete nightmare from beginning to end.” Understandable, when your boyfriend got you detained for 14 hours while handcuffed to a pole.
But the straw that broke the camel’s back was Diddy’s rumoured infidelity. He allegedly cheated on Lopez with the late model Kim Porter, who’d become the mother to his three children. They officially ended things in 2001.
In 2019, the Love Don’t Cost A Thing singer called their time together a “crazy, tumultuous relationship that ended in a bang” but that he was a mentor that taught her “what kind of artist (she) wanted to be in the music industry.”
The two have remained good friends over the years.
In a high-profile operation on Monday, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents conducted a raid on a Holmby Hills mansion owned by Diddy and his production company.
The exact motive behind the raid remains shrouded in mystery, yet it unfolds against the backdrop of Diddy’s escalating legal woes, including lawsuits alleging sexual assaults and sex trafficking, according to TMZ.
