Jennifer Lopez‘s former boyfriend David Cruz has died.
The Grammy nominated songstress dated Cruz, her high school sweetheart and first love, for almost a decade before splitting up in the mid ’90s.
Cruz passed away on Saturday at Mount Sinai West Hospital in Manhattan, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office told TMZ. He was 51.
The website reports Cruz dies of heart disease but no further information was made available.
The duo started dating in 1984, when she was 15 and he was 16, before splitting in 1995 just before Lopez, who had been a back up dancer for the majority of their relationship, skyrocketed to fame.
The couple were photographed together at various events when the singer wasn’t so well known.
Cruz’s longtime partner told TMZ: ‘He was kind and loving. He never held on to anything and was always very open. He was a devoted father, he helped raise his step-son who is now in the Marines.
‘He loved the Yankees and Knicks. He loved going to the theatre with me. My favorite moment was family date night, because it wasn’t just special for me but for the kids as well. He always made sure to end things with an ‘I love you.”
In 2004 JLo reflected on her relationship with Cruz, saying fondly: ‘He’s a friend, and he probably knows me better than anyone else.
‘I have many memories of David because nine years is like a lifetime. We grew up together because I was barely 16 when I met him.
‘His best friend was dating my best friend. He saw me and fell in love with me right away.
‘He still lives in the neighbourhood in the Bronx where we grew up and so does my grandmother.
‘I see him whenever I go there to visit her. When we run into each other we keep in touch for a while through phone calls.’
Lopez’s romance with Cruz lasted longer than her three marriages to Ojani Noa (from 1997 to 1998), Cris Judd (from 2001 to 2002) and Marc Anthony (from 2004 to 2011) put together.
In 1995, soon after her breakup with Cruz, Lopez was linked to her Money Train co-star Wesley Snipes before moving on to marry Cuban waiter Ojani Noa, a marriage that lasted just 11 months.
At the height of her pop career, she dated hip-hop mogul Diddy, but they split in February 2001, later revealing he had cheated on her.
Following Diddy, she wed dancer and choreographer Cris Judd in September 2001 after a whirlwind romance, before that faltered 10 months later.
Immediately after the end of her second marriage, she fell in love with her Gigli co-star Ben Affleck, who proposed four months into their romance.
However, they called off their wedding four days before due to ‘excessive media attention’.
They parted ways in January 2004 with J.Lo rushing down the aisle with third husband Marc, who she had twins Max and Emme with during their seven year marriage.
She then dated toyboy dancer and actor Casper Smart on and off from 2011 to 2016.
The Waiting For Tonight hitmaker has seemingly found her happily ever after with her current fiance, retired baseball pro Alex Rodriguez, 44, who she began dating in 2017.
SOURCE: Daily Mail
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