Jennifer Lopez has been in the news lately due to the breakdown of her marriage to Ben Affleck. However, the recent arrest of hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs – Lopez’s ex-boyfriend – has brought her tumultuous relationship with Diddy in the late 90s back into the spotlight – along with a list of all the other celebrity relationships Sean Combs has had with the mogul, friends of whom attended his “White Party.”Jennifer Lopez and Sean “Diddy” Combs dated from 1999 to 2001 – between the end of J.Lo’s marriage to first husband Ojani Noa and her marriage to second husband, dancer Cris Judd.
What did Jennifer Lopez say about her relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs?
Jennifer Lopez was one of many stars who was mentored by Sean Combs in the late 1990s and 2000s. They began dating in 1999 and ended their relationship in 2001. The singer and actress has spoken glowingly of Combs in recent years. In a 2014 interview with Access Hollywood, she said that Combs “gave me a lot of advice and taught me a lot,” adding that “there’s still a lot of mutual respect and admiration there.”
According to USA Today, these comments came after Diddy announced Jennifer Lopez as the winner of the “best butt” battle (with another candidate being Kim Kardashian).
But in fact, Lopez’s comments around the time of her split with Diddy were not so positive. In 2003, Lopez confirmed in an interview with Vibe magazine that they broke up because Diddy cheated on her and that the relationship had caused her significant emotional distress.
Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jennifer Lopez at the 42nd Grammy Awards, when they were still dating. (Photo: Getty/Kevin Winter)
“It was the first time I was with someone who wasn’t faithful. I was in that relationship with Diddy, I was crying, I was going crazy, I was going crazy, it really turned my whole life into chaos,” she said.
Speaking about her brief marriage to Cris Judd, Lopez said: “After getting out of a very passionate relationship, I met someone sweet, someone who was refreshing.”
In Lopez’s 2024 documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, Lopez compared her relationship with Ben Affleck to previous relationships in which she was “treated roughly and had some other nasty things happen to her,” Forbes reported, but did not specify who.
Sean “Diddy” Combs and the 1999 New York nightclub shooting
In 1999, Sean “Diddy” Combs, then 31, was arrested following a shooting at a New York City nightclub in 1991. At the time, Combs was accompanied by bodyguard Anthony “Wolf,” 21-year-old rapper Jamal “Shyne” Barrows and his 30-year-old girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez.
The incident began as a disagreement and ended in a shooting that left three people injured, Forbes reported. Sean Combs and Jamal “Shyne” Barrows faced multiple charges, and Combs was acquitted. However, the most seriously injured person has always insisted that Combs shot him in the face. Natania Reuben told News Nation that she was willing “to have a doctor remove part of the 9mm bullet in my face so they can use it as evidence.”
Reuben filed a $130 million lawsuit against Combs in 2008, which was settled out of court in June 2011. Reuben claimed Combs shot him in the face.
“I saw it,” she told The Daily Beast. “I saw it with my own eyes.” Natania Reuben said Diddy’s arrest was her “best day.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives in court to stand trial on weapons and bribery charges in the 1999 nightclub shooting. (Photo: Getty/Doug Kanter)
What was Sean “Diddy” Combs accused of in 1999?
After a fight, Combs fled the scene with Lopez and Jones. All three were involved in a police chase. According to the Washington Post, police found a stolen gun in the car. Both Combs and Lopez were arrested and initially charged with possession of stolen property, The Guardian reported. The charges against Lopez were dropped, but Sean Combs and Jamal Barrow went to trial. Diddy faces additional bribery charges; he allegedly offered the car’s driver $50,000 to say the gun was his.
Diddy was acquitted. His 21-year-old co-defendant, Jamal “Shyne” Barrow, was charged with five counts, including first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of a weapon. Barrow was acquitted of attempted murder but served a decade in prison for his crimes, according to The New York Times. No one was charged or convicted in the shooting itself.
What did Jennifer Lopez say about the shooting?
Jennifer Lopez rarely spoke about the shooting, but in 2000 she addressed it in an interview with British magazine ELLE. She said, “It was a complete nightmare. I had no idea what was going on. Nobody knew.”
At this time, Jennifer Lopez has not commented on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest.
