What appeared to be a reunion between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck has apparently turned into a ménage à trois!
J Lo's ex, Diddy, waded into the purported reconciliation yesterday, when he posted a throwback photo of the pair from when they were dating in the early noughties.
The picture, which was captioned "#tbt", showed the couple holding hands — and of course, social media went wild, with some people accusing the hip hop mogul of pot-stirring.
If you're not aware, Lopez and Diddy dated from 1999 to 2001, with Lopez later going onto date Affleck. Here we take a look back at the former couple's iconic relationship in light of Diddy's latest Instagram manoeuvre...
In the beginning...
Diddy and J Lo met back in 1999 when he worked on Lopez's music video, If You Had My Love, and things quickly went from strength to strength.
In December of the same year, however, the couple were both arrested after they fled a New York nightclub where a shooting had taken place.
While the pop star's charges were immediately dropped, Diddy — who was then known as Puff Daddy — was charged with bribery and gun possession. He was later acquitted at trial.
Diddy and J Lo make public appearances together
Diddy and Lopez attended a slew of events together, including the 1999 MTV Music Awards, where they looked super loved up.
Speaking about his relationship with Lopez, and how it began while he was still dating his ex, Kim Porter, the rapper said that he "had to try things out" with the singer.
Diddy, the red carpet, and J Lo's Versace dress...
The couple made fashion history when JLo stepped out with Diddy wearing her iconic, green Versace dress at the 2000 Grammys.
Speaking about the impact of the dress, Diddy later said: "I thought it was gonna really change the game as far as for her and fashion. I didn’t know how big it was gonna be, but it was a great moment for her. We were just stepping up our game as far as what we were wearing and how we were gonna use fashion."
"She deserved it. She is one of the fliest out there," he added to Entertainment Tonight.
As we all know, the dress became so infamous that it even inspired the creation of the Google Image Search!
The split
The couple announced their breakup on Valentine's Day 2001 after months of speculation.
"Mr Combs confirmed that he and his love, Jennifer Lopez, have, in fact, broken up," Diddy's publicist, Nathalie Moar, said at the time. "Mr Combs is confirming this today, as he wanted to put all the rumours surrounding their relationship to rest. At this difficult time, we ask that you respect his privacy."
Lopez later told Oprah Winfrey that she had called it quits as she knew that she'd never have the family life she wanted with the rapper. She also hinted that Diddy had cheated on her with his ex, Kim Porter, who passed away in 2018.
JLo opens up about her breakup with Diddy
JLo spoke about their split nearly a decade later during her appearance on The Breakfast Club. "The Puffy era was just kind of a crazy, heightened time in my life. You know, Puffy and I both grew up in the Bronx," she recalled. "He had been in the music business and had all this success; I was just starting and making my first album when I met him. He became kind of a mentor to me in that moment. We had this kind of crazy, tumultuous relationship that ended in a bang."
"It was definitely a moment but I felt like it was necessary," she added. "He was meant to be in my life at that moment to teach me what I needed to know about the music business, about what kind of artist I wanted to be in the music industry."
Exes and friends
While it's difficult to even remain on speaking terms with a former flame, JLo and Diddy proved to be the exception to the rule. They've remained close for years, with Diddy even attending Lopez' final residency show in Las Vegas in 2018 to show his support, and J Lo dutifully gave him a shout out.
The pair were even spotted parting together following her breakup from Ben Affleck in 2004.
Diddy praise for Lopez never ends
In an interview with Access Hollywood in 2014, Diddy spoke about Lopez' famous rear end. "[Her booty] is great. It's a work of art. It's something that will go down in history," he said. "No disrespect, Kanye and Kim, but that thing right there is something special."
Then, in January of 2019 — when Lopez was still with Alex Rodriguez — Diddy left a comment on her #10DayChallenge Instagram post that read "OMG" with a heart emoji, in response to a snap of her showing off her abs in a sports bra and leggings.
The comment sparked rumours that Diddy was flirting with his ex while she was engaged to Alex Rodriguez. But Lopez later revealed that it was all harmless, and that the rapper had later reached out to A Rod to clarify that it was left in jest.
"So you guys know, he wrote Alex after that," the singer and actress said. "He was like, 'I didn’t mean anything by it, I have nothing but respect for you guys, I’m so happy for you'".
Lopez, Diddy, and A-Rod hop on a Zoom call
Lopez and Diddy proved that exes can be amicable, when she hopped on a Zoom call with the hip hop mogul, and her then-fiancé, Rodriguez. The call took place over lockdown to raise money for victims of Covid-19.
"I just love you guys," Diddy said to J Lo and A-Rod, to which the Get Right hitmaker replied: "We love you, we love what you’re doing. I just want to send you all the love in the world from my family to yours. We love and appreciate you."
