Skip to main content

Jennifer Lopez and Sean “Diddy” Combs dated from 1999 to 2001. Lopez once said she believes she was meant to meet Combs. Here’s what she said about their relationship.

Jennifer Lopez and Diddy had an instant connection

Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Jennifer Lopez have a conversation during a party
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Jennifer Lopez | Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment

Lopez and Diddy seemed to have an instant connection. During an interview with People magazine, she spoke about their relationship and early days of dating. Lopez recalls the time Combs said he loved her the first day they met on the set of a video shoot.

Although their relationship started off well, Lopez says she and Combs experienced some frightening situations. “We went through some very traumatic events together,” says Lopez, referring to the time they were arrested in 1999 after reportedly fleeing a nightclub shooting.

“But like I said, I learned a lot about the music business with him,” she continues. Lopez also says the relationship helped her grow in her personal life. She learned how to stand up for herself in future relationships.

Lopez says she was meant to meet Sean ‘Diddy Combs’

Lopez made the transition from dancing and acting to singing when she released her first album, On the 6. She had major success with the film Selena, and she appeared in the movie Out of Sight alongside George Clooney. Now, it was time for the singer to spread her wings and fulfill her lifelong dream of being a triple threat—a singer, dancer, and actor.

During the interview with People, Lopez says she learned a lot about the music industry from Combs. “He was great,” she says. “It was almost like I was meant to meet him while I was making my first album because helped me a lot. He guided me.”

Lopez jokes that Combs had a “rough way” of guiding her career, but he did provide support. According to her, Combs would bluntly tell her when something about her image or music didn’t work. “He had a way of communicating that put it very plainly, like, ‘That sucks; don’t do that.’”

Lopez says she was “smart enough” to take the things that were useful to her and apply them. She says Combs was great when it came to working with artists because he has an A&R background. “He would share his knowledge with me whether I asked for it or not,” adds Lopez.

The advice Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs gave Jennifer Lopez that she still follows

In her book, True Love, Lopez says Combs told her to be careful about what she says in her albums because it can define who she is as an artist. He advised Lopez to think carefully about the lyrics in each of her songs.

“I remember Puffy once saying to me while I was making my very first album, ‘Be careful what you sing, be careful what you record, because it can define you,’” wrote Lopez. “Music is very powerful. It goes out into the universe, and it takes on an energy; it becomes part of your story. That’s why I would never record anything that’s too negative or too depressing—because that’s not what I want my life to be about.” Lopez says music is more than lyrics on a page. For her, music represents her life as an artist. Says Lopez, “In many ways, you sing your future.”  

Follow Sheiresa Ngo on Twitter.