Cassie Ventura‘s dating life continues to be put under the microscope because of the Diddy trial, and her relationship with an ex-NFL player has now come to light.
During his testimony on Thursday (May 29), stylist Deonte Nash recalled the singer having a relationship with ex-Miami Dolphins player Andre Branch around 2017.
Reporting from the scene, Complex’s Shawn Setaro reported that Nash — who worked for Diddy from around 2008 to 2018 — called Branch “the cute football player.”
Nash didn’t say much more than that about the pair’s purported romance. He did, however, testify that Cassie and Michael B. Jordan were involved, and Nash claimed he’s the one who set them up.
“I did hook her up with Michael B. Jordan,” Nash said on the stand, per Setaro. “He fine. She fine. I mean, why not? [Diddy and Cassie] were broken up. [Diddy] was at the Revolt Music Conference with [another girlfriend named] Gina.”
Nash then explained that another stylist, Icon Tips, texted Cassie and told her, “‘You look good,'” at the Revolt Conference with Diddy. However, the stylist confused Cassie for Gina, who attended the event with the mogul. “Cassie got upset,” Nash said.
“‘Why does he keep humiliating me and trying to ruin my career?’ is what she said,” Nash continued. “She was pretty angry — well, not really.”
According to TMZ, Cassie mentioned during her testimony on May 16 that she had a fling with an NFL player, which prompted Diddy to take her phone. However, the athlete wasn’t named until Nash’s testimony.
Diddy also allegedly reacted violently when he found out Cassie had been seeing Michael B. Jordan in 2015, with Cassie claiming that Diddy “called the actor and threatened him.”
This isn’t the first time that Gina has come up in the Diddy trial. It was previously reported that Cassie and Diddy split after she saw a photo of Diddy with Gina, whom he previously told Ventura he wasn’t dating. Ventura then cut off communication with Diddy and started dating Jordan soon after.
Branch was drafted into the NFL in 2012 by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He remained with the team until 2015 and joined the Dolphins in 2016. He stayed with the Miami team for two years, ending his football career in 2019 with the Arizona Cardinals.
Branch hasn’t yet commented on Cassie and Nash’s statements from Diddy’s trial.
