Sterling K. Brown’s massive crush on Jennifer Lopez led him and his now-wife, Ryan Michelle Bathé, to be separated for over three years.

During a recent appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, the actress and singer asked the couple about the crisis in their relationship.

“Is it true y’all broke up over Jennifer Lopez?” the host asked in a video shared on Wednesday (September 25), making Ryan laugh as she turned to look at her visibly embarrassed companion.

Sterling explained that they were watching television in their early twenties when Jennifer’s music video for Love Don’t Cost a Thing came up on MTV. The song was part of her 2001 album, J.Lo.

Sterling K. Brown’s wife, Ryan Michelle Bathé, broke up with him after he began crying over a Jennifer Lopez music video

Image credits: Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / Getty

“We had just gone out. We were living in New York City. We were in grad school. We had just gone to see a Broadway play, and we came back to my place, and my roommate was playing the video on MTV,” recalled the This Is Us actor.

“Now, I’m a fan of Jennifer Lopez’s dancing, etcetera. I was watching the video, and I knew my young 21-, 22-year-old girlfriend was looking at me, and I knew I wasn’t supposed to have a reaction.”

Ultimately, Sterling’s eyes gave away what he truly thought about Jennifer’s dance moves, sparking jealousy in his girlfriend.

Image credits: Marleen Moise / Getty

“What had happened was my eyes began to water,” he shared.

“Otherwise known as tears,” Ryan interrupted.

Looking back, Sterling said he should have grabbed the remote and changed the channel.

The couple, who have been married since 2006, had a three-year crisis when Sterling couldn’t hide his feelings about J.Lo’s video for Love Don’t Cost a Thing

Image credits: Jennifer Hudson Show

Image credits: Jennifer Hudson Show

Ryan then gave her own version of the story. “I turn around, and my boyfriend is weeping, tears like big fat [tears]. “And I’m looking, and she’s just shaking and shimming, and he’s just crying. I said, ‘Oh no, I got to go.'”

Though Sterling begged her to stay, Ryan wasn’t about to accept her boyfriend drooling over his celebrity crush right in front of her.

“I said, ‘You crying over somebody else’s booty … in front of me?'”

Jennifer Hudson sided with Ryan, telling her husband he should be “ashamed” of his behavior.

“I’m looking, and she’s just shaking and shimming, and he’s just crying,” said Ryan on The Jennifer Hudson Show

Sterling and Ryan met at Stanford University and have two sons: Andrew and Amaré

Image credits: We Don’t Always Agree Podcast

Many years later, Sterling went on to star with Jennifer in the 2024 Netflix sci-fi drama Atlas. 

During an interview for the film’s press tour with Jennifer and his co-star, Simu Liu, the 48-year-old actor confessed that he and Ryan separated for three and a half years after her music video played on MTV.

Jennifer’s jaw dropped. “No, I didn’t know that was your wife!” the Marry Me singer said before they all laughed about the anecdote.

Sterling met Ryan as a freshman at Stanford. The couple married in March 2006 and have two sons, Andrew and Amaré.

The couple recently launched a podcast titled We Don’t Always Agree.

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