Diddy and Naomi Campbell Had a "Brother-Sister Relationship" Despite Dating Rumors

Following his arrest and the plethora of unsavory allegations against him, Sean "Diddy" Combs is having all of his business brought to light — from private parties to famous friends. His relationships with dozens of fellow Hollywood stars are being called into question, including former mentee Justin Bieber and late ex-girlfriend Kim Porter. One such celeb being thrust into the spotlight thanks to her association with Diddy is model Naomi Campbell.

At the beginning of their decades-long friendship, Diddy and Naomi started to make public appearances together in the early '00s, shortly after his breakup from ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez. And though dating rumors sparked between the music mogul and model, more recent reports have revealed that their affiliation was actually a publicity stunt that later grew into a "brother-sister relationship."

Let's take a look.

Diddy and Naomi were first photographed together for Vogue in 2001, and dating rumors sparked instantly. Though Naomi was actually engaged at the time to Formula One racer Flavio Briatore, Diddy and Naomi continued to be seen together at parties and on what appeared to be dates, and their relationship was undeniable.

However, it has since been revealed that this was completely intentional and that Diddy tapped Naomi to help him fix his public image after his breakup with Jennifer Lopez left him feeling insecure.

Per the Mirror, "Sean told Naomi that he desperately needed 'prestige' on his arm to recover his 'ladies' man' reputation. [She] promised to help by appearing in public with him. But she warned, 'That's the only kind of boost you'll be getting from me'."

Since then, their forced friendship has blossomed into a bona-fide connection, with the pair remaining close for decades and supporting each other's professional endeavors.

In a 2018 interview with AOL following the release of the annual Pirelli calendar, in which both Naomi and Diddy were featured, the model opened up about the nature of their relationship: "I love his company, I love his demeanor, I love his love towards me and I love our friendship."

She continued, "He's very private, but people who know him know he's loyal. He's been loyal to me for so many years. We've known each other for 20-something years, and he's been consistently the same. We really do have a brother-sister relationship, and I adore him."

In fact, the pair were so close that Naomi interviewed Diddy in 2020 as part of her quarantine YouTube series, No Filter With Naomi, during which the disgraced star talked about being a single father. The model even threw Diddy a massive, star-studded birthday party in 2023.

However, following singer Cassie's initial abuse allegations and lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend, Naomi (as well as fellow party guest and friend Janet Jackson) removed all snaps of Diddy from her social media accounts and has remained silent regarding his legal situation since then.