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For years, music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was romantically tied to Kim Porter, the mother of some of his children and his on-and-off partner for over a decade. After Porter’s sudden tragic death in 2018, Diddy was distraught — and in hindsight, he admitted that he got with other women as a way to “rebound” and recover from the loss of his longtime companion.

Kim Porter and Sean "Diddy" Combs
Kim Porter and Sean “Diddy” Combs | Johnny Nuñez/WireImage

Diddy shared 4 kids with Kim Porter

When Diddy first started dating Kim Porter in 1993, she already had a son from a previous relationship: Quincy Taylor Brown, whom Porter shared with singer Al B. Sure! and Diddy later adopted. The following year, Diddy and Porter welcomed their first son together, Christian Combs, who has since followed in his dad’s footsteps and raps under the name King Combs. 12 years later, in 2006, Diddy and Porter welcomed twins D’Lila Star Combs and Jessie James Combs.

At the turn of the millennium, Diddy and Porter were broken up when Diddy started dating rising superstar Jennifer Lopez. But as Diddy admitted in a 2006 interview with Oprah Winfrey, his mind was with Porter while he was with J. Lo.

“Jennifer and I are so much alike as far as our drive, our determination, what we want to achieve. That’s why we connected,” he said. “But I could never go forward and finish the relationship with Jennifer because I was still in love with Kim. She still had my heart.”

“Kim is also very intelligent,” he added. “During the whole Jennifer Lopez thing, she was like, ‘You’ll be back. Go do your thing, silly boy.’ I’m quite sure that was a tough time for her, but she was cool as ice. That’s sexy!”

Diddy had a lot of ‘rebound’ flings after Kim Porter died in 2018

Diddy reflected on his relationship with Porter — and how he’s dealt with moving on — in a 2022 interview with Teyana Taylor on Bumble’s web series Luv2SeeIt.

“I know that Kim would want somebody to love me. Right now, I’m not on that time. It definitely puts up a lot of barriers for you because it hurts so much,” the Cîroc vodka mogul said. “The thing is, is to not give up on it and know when you’re ready because I’ve got to love myself. I’m not going to rush into something and it be a rebound situation and I’m trying to stop the pain. I’m open to it. I want to get my soul snatched. That’s what it’s going to take.”

While Diddy is open to finding love and a stable relationship again, he confessed that in the immediate aftermath following Porter’s death, he started throwing himself into various flings “I did a bunch of rebound stuff and was definitely vulnerable,” he said. “My heart just wanted somebody to love me.”

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Diddy Reflects on His ‘Forever’ Love for Kim Porter on the Anniversary of Her Death

He has a lot of love for Porter today

Diddy continues to acknowledge the love he still has for Porter today. In November 2022, Diddy looked back on his love for Porter in an Instagram post commemorating the four-year anniversary of her death.

“Today we celebrate you on your rebirth day,” he captioned his post. “I pray y’all get to experience a love like this. I miss you and I love you forever.”

“Everyday we celebrate you and thank God for blessing us with the time we shared together,” he wrote in another post. “Thank you for making me smile for a life time. You’ve made me a better father and a better man. I’m so grateful for all the moments, the memories, the laughs, and the love. Once upon a time!! LOVE YOU FOREVER [Kim]!! And they all lived happily ever after!!!”