Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs‘ reason for dating Jennifer Lopez has been exposed.

RadarOnline.com can reveal the disgraced music mogul previously opened up about his romance with J Lo – and admitted to dating the singer to entice his ex-girlfriend Kim Porter to “come running” back to him.

Combs, 55, dated J Lo, 55, from 1999 to 2001, shortly after he split from on-off girlfriend Porter, who he had son Christian with in 1998. Porter died aged 47 in 2018.

J Lo and Combs’ relationship sparked a media frenzy.

The Jenny From the Block singer became a staple at Combs’ lavish events, including his annual star-studded White Party.

While the pair appeared to be inseparable, the romance ultimately fizzled after two years in 2001. She went on to have a whirlwind romance with choreographer Chris Judd, who she married in September 2001 and divorced less than a year later in July 2002.

Years after Combs and J Lo went their separate ways, the music mogul opened up about their relationship during a 2007 interview with Essence, in which he made a shocking admission about his motivation for pursing the On the Floor singer.

While Combs described J Lo as a perfect match for him, he admitted he still had feelings for Porter when they were an item.

Combs confessed: “I thought, ‘I’ll test the waters, and hopefully Kim will see I’m serious and come running after me.’”

Porter, who was also quoted in the interview, acknowledged she was well aware of Combs’ feelings for her, even as he dated another woman.

She said: “I knew what was really going on. He was still in love with me.”

Combs and Porter eventually reconciled in 2003 and were together for four more years before they called it quits for good in 2007.

Over the course of their on-off relationship from 1994 to 2007, the pair welcomed three children together – son Christian, 26, and 17-year-old twin daughters Jessie and D’Lila.

Since Combs’ arrest on sex trafficking charges, his relationships with J Lo, Porter and Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura – who was just 19-years-old when she began dating the rapper in 2007 – have been heavily scrutinized with many pointing out signs of alleged abuse.

In November 2023, Cassie filed a lawsuit against Combs alleging he was abusive and forced her into sex trafficking. She further accused Combs of raping her in 2018.

Cassie claimed while dating Combs, he was controlling and forced her into “a drug-fueled lifestyle that kept her complacent and compliant”.

Combs denied Cassie’s allegations, branding them “offensive and outrageous” but settled the lawsuit just one day after it was filed.