Alex Fine: Cassie Ventura says Diddy would 'stomp her in the head', force 'freak-offs' in sex trafficking trial, who is her husband

The 38-year-old, who is heavily pregnant with her third child, appeared visibly shaken as she described physical assaults, blackmail, and coercion into disturbing sexual acts throughout their on-and-off 11-year relationship.

“He would mash me in the head, knock me over, drag me, kick me. Stomp me in the head if I was down,” Cassie told the jury. Asked how often Combs turned violent, she replied: “Too frequently.”

The testimony came a day after jurors were shown hotel surveillance footage from 2016 that showed Combs, wearing only a towel, punching and dragging Cassie through a hallway, a clip previously aired by CNN and widely circulated online. Prosecutors say the attack occurred after one of the so-called “freak-offs”, a term Combs allegedly used for sex parties he arranged, often involving escorts and filmed encounters.

Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, said Combs began controlling her life soon after signing her to his label, Bad Boy Records, in the mid-2000s. They started dating when she was 19 and he was 37.

“He controlled everything. My schedule, what I looked like, who I saw,” she said. “Sean is a really polarising person, also really charming. It’s hard to really be able to decide in that moment what you need when he’s telling you what he wants.”

Cassie described the first time she was asked to take part in a “freak-off” at the age of 22, calling it “confusing” and “nerve-racking”. “I loved him very much,” she said, explaining why she complied. “There were blackmail materials to make me feel like if I didn’t do it, it would be held over my head… or these things would become public.”

She said the sexual sessions, which sometimes lasted up to four days, became “a job” that left no room for her career or recovery. “The freak-offs became a job, where there was no space to do anything else but recover,” she said.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges including sex trafficking and racketeering. His defence team acknowledged that he could be violent and have “kinky sex”, but insisted all acts were consensual. “He’s not charged with being a jerk,” defence attorney Teny Geragos said in opening statements.

Cassie initially sued Combs in 2023 in a civil case alleging years of abuse, which was quickly settled out of court. That lawsuit, however, prompted multiple other claims and led to the federal criminal investigation now underway. Combs has been held without bail at a Brooklyn detention facility since his arrest in September. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Who is Alex Fine?

Cassie is now married to actor and fitness trainer Alex Fine. The couple share two children and are expecting a third. Fine has largely remained out of the spotlight throughout the trial but was briefly permitted to attend part of Cassie’s testimony.

Before she took the stand, defence lawyers objected to Fine being in the courtroom, suggesting they may call him as a witness later. Prosecutors argued he should be allowed to remain to support his wife. A compromise was reached, allowing Fine to be present only during portions of her testimony not relevant to potential cross-examination.

The couple married in 2019, shortly after Cassie ended her relationship with Combs. Fine has publicly supported Cassie since she filed her civil suit.