Puffy Combs Talks With 'Vanity Fair'

May 8, 2001 -- Sean "P. Diddy" (formerly Puff Daddy) Combs and singer-actress Jennifer Lopez may be splitsville, but the rapper still thinks they have one of the greatest love affairs of all time.

Combs compares their relationship, which, ironically, ended on Valentine's Day, to that of the tumultuous, unforgettable affair between Frank Sinatra and green-eyed starlet Ava Gardner. "I'm Frank, you know what I'm saying?" Combs brags in the new issue of Vanity Fair. "Frank's always gonna love Ava and Ava's gonna always love Frank and everybody's just gotta deal with it."

Gardner and Sinatra had a stormy relationship from 1951 to 1957, when they divorced. However, they remained in touch, with Sinatra taking care of the actress' medical bills after she was partially paralyzed by a stroke in 1989. Gardner died in 1990; Sinatra passed away in 1998.

J.Lo Still Offers Her Support

Combs says he and Lopez are still "good friends" and goes so far as to claim that if she were in a burning building, he'd risk death to save her. "She'll always be someone that I love," the rapper gushes.

Lopez, who's now dating dancer Cris Judd, is a little less effusive. "I tried to be there for him [during his gun possession and bribery trial, which resulted in Combs' acquittal]," the diva tells Vanity Fair. "I tried to stay positive, even when I didn't feel positive. And I was always a phone call away."

The couple's relationship is hinted at in an upcoming episode of Law & Order titled "3 Dawg Night," which revolves around a wealthy New York rapper and a young, up-and-coming Latina singer who are embroiled in a nightclub shooting.

Combs' reps told the New York Post that the story was "pure entertainment" that "doesn't affect him."