Jennifer LopezDiddy short-lived marriage

While appearing on Despierta America, the 50-year-old actor reflected on the end of his relationship with the superstar, 55, as he alleged that ‘part of that divorce’ was the 54-year-old disgraced hip-hop mogul’s ‘fault.’

‘When Sony came and paid her the millions she got, there was Puffy [Combs], who was going to be one of the producers of several tracks on the first album On The 6, Noa told the outlet.

He continued, ‘I was in Los Angeles opening my restaurant and she was between Miami and New York working on the album.’

Noa’s interview was translated from Spanish to English in the quotes above in an article published by Page Six on Wednesday.

Jennifer Lopez’s ex-husband, Ojani Noa, holds Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs partially responsible for end of their short-lived marriage, which lasted from 1997 to 1998 (pictured in 2024)

DailyMail.com has reached out to Lopez’s representative for comment.

Noa and Lopez were married from 1997 to 1998.

Oja was working as a waiter at Gloria Estefan’s Miami eatery Lario’s On the Beach when he first met Jennifer – who had appeared in movie Money Train and was busy filming Blood and Wine – but had no idea who she was.

Previously, Oja detailed how her life as a ‘megastar’ eventually took a toll on their marriage during a 2022 interview with the Mail on Sunday.

‘There were many times I felt like Mr Cinderella. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. In the beginning, I had no idea who she was,’ he recalled.

Oja continued: ‘We fell in love when she was already famous. But during our marriage she became a megastar. For years it was too painful to talk about. I wanted to lie low and live my life.’

The pair first kissed at the Blood and Wine wrap party, but Jennifer then flew back to Los Angeles, and the pair spent weeks talking over the phone before Ojani joined her at the premiere of the movie.

He recalled: ‘After the premiere we went back to her hotel. That was the first time we made love. It was perfect. She was perfect. We lay there afterwards and she said, “I want you to always be in my life. I love you.”‘

While appearing on Despierta America, the 50-year-old actor reflected on the end of his relationship with the superstar, 55, as he alleged that the ‘part of of that divorce was’ was the disgraced hip-hop mogul’s ‘fault’ (seen with Diddy at the 2000 Grammy Awards)

While the pair were smitten with one another, Ojani’s life was turned ‘upside down’ when Jennifer landed the lead role in Selena.

He reflected: ‘She went from Jen to being J Lo, this big business bringing in millions. She had all these new people around her, all wanting to make money off her. I would call and an assistant would say, “Sorry, she’s not available.”‘

But even after they married, things got worse in their relationship as photos of Lopez with Diddy – who was producing her album – began to circulate and she allegedly told her spouse she ‘couldn’t’ have children yet because it would damage her career.

He claimed: ‘I rang Jen and asked why she was going out with him on dates and she said, “It’s just business. This is what I’m being told I have to do.” I was jealous and would scream, “But you are married!”‘

‘When Sony came and paid her the millions she got, there was Puffy [Combs], who was going to be one of the producers of several tracks on the first album On The 6, Noa (pictured in 2007) told the outlet

‘We wanted kids, we discussed having kids. Then she told me she couldn’t have a baby because it would interfere with her career.’

The personal trainer also claimed he was encouraged to ‘fake it’ when they travelled to Chicago in 1997 to film an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Ojani recalled: ‘Oprah knew we were having problems. I was sitting in the audience and thought Oprah would come to me because we had talked about it beforehand.

‘Oprah said to Jen, “I hear you guys are having problems.” With that beautiful face and that beautiful smile, Jen said, “No, everything is amazing.” Or something like that.’

The couple eventually split and the Hustlers actress went on to publicly date Diddy, but she remained close to her first husband.

He said: ‘There were times she told me she wanted to get back together. In quiet moments she would say, “I need you in my life. I don’t want to lose you.”‘

Noa and Lopez were married from 1997 to 1998; seen in 1998

Following their romance, she went on to marry Cris Judd between 2001 to 2003, then Marc Anthony between 2004 to 2014 and, mostly recently, Ben Affleck.

She and Affleck are currently in the middle of finalizing their divorce after two years of marriage.