Back in August 2019, Alex Fine posted a video of his wife Cassie Ventura, holding and comforting him after he ran 50 miles to raise money for his domestic violence charity.
“Just the person I needed with me the whole time,” Fine wrote in the caption of his post. “Wow I am so lucky to be able to hug her after this. She makes me better in every way.”
Fine is now showing his support for his wife, as Ventura, who is weeks from delivering their third child, testifies against the man she says made her life torturous, her former boyfriend and producer Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Fine, who married Ventura the same month he posted the video, was in the courtroom Tuesday. He was seen staring at Combs before Ventura took the stand to testify about her past relationship with Combs and their “Freak Offs,” which she said included her having sex with male escorts while Combs watched for his pleasure.
Combs has blown air kisses and gestured to his family supporters in court this week. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that include racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs and Ventura each appear to be leaning into the support of their respective families as the public hears graphic testimony about their time together, which included a 2016 surveillance video that shows Ventura being physically assaulted by her then-boyfriend, Combs.
‘Men who hit women aren’t men’
Fine was reportedly first hired as a personal trainer for Combs before landing Ventura as his client as well.
Ventura, now 38, first met Combs, now 55, when she was a 19-year-old singer. Their longterm relationship played out, off and on, between 2007 and 2018.
She told Vogue in 2019 that she and Fine had met at a gym and didn’t date long before they discovered they were pregnant with their first child.
“We decided to plan a wedding for this past summer after debating between getting married before or after the baby came,” she said at the time.
Fine has often shared his admiration for his wife on social media and was there for her after she filed a civil lawsuit against Combs in November 2023, which was quickly settled without Combs admitting wrongdoing.
In it, Ventura alleged that during their relationship Combs controlled all aspects of her personal life, forced her to engage in sex acts with other men and “introduced” her to a lifestyle of “excessive alcohol and substance abuse.”
When she tried to end things with Combs in 2018, she alleged that he forced his way into her home and raped her. Combs has denied her allegations.
According to her complaint at the time, Ventura still suffered from “immense emotional distress” and at one point she checked into an inpatient rehabilitation center after having suicidal thoughts she linked to abuse.
Her husband has a personal connection to domestic violence beyond Ventura.
In a March 2020 post on his Almost Home site, Fine wrote, “When I got the news that my mom had been the victim of domestic abuse and violence, I really didn’t know how to handle it.”
Fine said his “anger” over the abuse his mother endured deeply affected him.
“I didn’t want to give in to those paralyzing feelings,” he wrote. “So, I decided to channel my anger and feelings of helplessness by running fifty miles to bring awareness and hopefully raise some money for other victims of domestic violence.”
That was the race of which he shared footage of Ventura with him after he finished.
After CNN first published 2016 surveillance footage of Combs assaulting Ventura at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, Fine shared a letter he wrote about domestic violence on social media.
“Men who hit women aren’t men,” Fine wrote. “Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men. As men violence against women shouldn’t be inevitable, check your brothers, your friends and your family.”
He also offered support to those who have been abused, writing, “We want you to succeed and to flourish.”
“To all the women and children, I’m sorry you live in a world where you’re not protected, and you don’t feel equal,” he wrote. “I want to raise my daughters in a world where they are safe and loved.”
“To the abusers, you’re done, you’re not safe anymore, you’re not protected anymore, the men by your side are just as weak,” Fine wrote.
He may be called as a witness in Combs’ trial. There was debate raised by the defense team as to whether Fine should be allowed to be present during his wife’s testimony, which began Tuesday, but the judge allowed him to attend.
Prior to Ventura’s testimony, Combs’ defense team made a request to have Ventura, who is more than eight months pregnant, seated at the witness stand before the jury entered the courtroom.
“There is a quality to her walking in front of the jury that I think is easily avoidable,” Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, requested in court on Monday.
Judge Arun Subramanian ultimately denied the request.