Common on First 'Heartbreak' Being Among His 'Greatest Lessons': 'I Was Broken'

An early heartbreak nearly caused Common not to love again.

The rapper-actor has dated singer and talk show host Jennifer Hudson since 2023, and during the July 22 episode of On Purpose With Jay Shetty, Common opened up about his first breakup in adulthood.

Common previously dated celebrities Serena Williams, Erykah Badu, and Tiffany Haddish, but on the podcast, he recalled that his first breakup had a profound effect on him.

"One of my greatest lessons and times that I've grown as a human being has been in one of the greatest pains I had," he said. "And that was a breakup, a heartbreak where I was like broken."

"And I hadn't been broken like that. I had lost people in my life," he continued. "And that was definitely devastating, but it was something about a heartbreak where the person was obviously you hear they're still alive. This was the first love that I had as an adult. And I knew God had ordained it. But at a certain point, it became not healthy."

The Academy Award winner added that he and his girlfriend at the time had been "partying hard," but the decision to break up wasn't his.

"I got broke up with, you know, and it was like, 'Whew, this is hard,'" he said. "And at times, I wasn't wasn't eating consistently. I was sitting in this hotel room for weeks just trying to find a piece, calling my aunt, talking to different people about it. It was weighing on me."

Common read self-help titles like Return to Love and The Mastery of Love to make sense of his first heartbreak and says he "learned some lessons" from the books.

"One of the lessons was that I was willing to dim my light for others," he said. "And in that relationship, I was dimming my light. It wasn't it's not that person's fault. I take responsibility for that."

In realizing his flaws, he said, Common developed stronger self-love and was able to "move forward" from the relationship.

The entertainer has since found happiness with Hudson, whom he discussed on a recent episode of podcast Mama, I Made It!

"It's like those things you pray for and you don't get them until you're ready," he told host Samantha Chatman. "Whatever growing I had to do, it was the divine time in alignment when Jennifer and I started being interested in each other."

The artist has repeatedly brought up his hope of one day marrying Hudson, even telling her so himself on the Dreamgirls actress' talk show last year.

For more Common, check out Complex Shop for exclusive merch and albums including his latest, The Auditorium Vol 1.

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