Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and Kim Porter shared a complex and deeply intertwined relationship that spanned over a decade. As co-parents to three children, including their twin daughters, their connection remained strong long after their breakup in 2007. Unfortunately, Porter died in 2018, sending shockwaves through Combs’ world. Here’s how he broke down in tears while speaking about her before Mother’s Day.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs once broke down while talking about Kim Porter before Mother’s Day in 2019

Sean “Diddy” Combs and Kim Porter’s relationship began in the mid-1990s when Combs was rising to prominence as a music mogul and cultural force. Porter, a former model and actor, developed an immediate and magnetic connection to Combs. As Combs’ empire expanded with Bad Boy Records, their relationship was shaped by both the intensity of fame and the pressure of living under constant scrutiny.

Combs and Porter welcomed their first child together, Christian, in 1998, and despite periods of separation and reconciliation, their lives remained closely intertwined. In 2006, Porter gave birth to twin daughters, D’Lila Star and Jessie James. Just before their birth, the couple split for good, with Porter citing infidelity and growing tensions. Sadly, Porter died in 2018 from lobar pneumonia, which shocked Combs and the kids they shared.

In 2019, Breakfast Club Power 105.1 replayed a recording of Combs speaking about Porter to Essence just before Mother’s Day.

“Mother’s Day is gonna hurt,” Combs said. “We’re definitely going to celebrate, you know, all the mothers. We’re not going to get in the way of that. But, you know, honestly, anybody that’s lost a mother, lost a soulmate, it takes times. It takes time, you know.”

“They say time heals all wounds. When it comes to your mother, or mothers, I don’t think that’s the case,” he continued, starting to cry. “You know, I think we have the strongest beings, like, when it comes to a category of strongest beings on the face of the Earth, it would have to be Black mothers. I don’t think anybody understands how hard it is to be a Black mother.”

Essence put the music mogul on the cover to celebrate Mother’s Day

After Kim Porter’s death, Essence made the controversial decision to put Sean “Diddy” Combs and his kids on the cover of their issue before Mother’s Day.

“It’s a testament to who Kim was, how she touched people, the grace and poise she had, the way she changed a room as soon as she entered,” Combs told the publication, according to Dream Hampton. “She was unforgettable. That day turned my world upside down.”

Combs noted that he jumped into “mommy mode” immediately. “Every time Kim and I talked, it was about the kids,” he added. “It was what she cared about the most. … On some level, I knew she was training me for this. I knew that I had to be ready to do whatever I was supposed to do if something like this ever happened. There was screaming and crying when I heard the news, of course, but I had to ask myself, ‘What would Kim do?’ I was scared, and I was crying out to God — and to her — and almost immediately Kim’s voice kicked in, and I could hear her saying, ‘Make sure you take care of my babies.’”

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs called it a ‘nightmare’ when Kim Porter died

Sean “Diddy” Combs expressed his devastation over Kim Porter’s death via Instagram.

“For the last three days I’ve been trying to wake up out of this nightmare,” he wrote in a now-deleted post in 2018, according to People. “But I haven’t.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you baby,” he continued. “I miss you so much. Today I’m going to pay tribute to you, I’m going to try and find the words to explain our unexplainable relationship. We were more than best friends, we were more than soulmates. WE WERE SOME OTHER S—!! And I miss you so much. Super Black Love [sic].”

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