Common's Love Life Timeline
Common is known for a few things. One, he's associated with releasing a slew of well-received albums. He's a successful actor. Oh, and he's a Grammy, Emmy, and Oscar award winner.
But the Chicago-raised artist is also known for dating a bunch of famous women. Now, Common didn't flat out say he was attracted to a woman's level of celebrity, but he has admitted that he likes his mates to be career-driven. "I love a powerful woman," he told Essence in 2021. "I love a woman that's just, like, going for hers, fulfilling her purpose and her dreams and is committed to it. I support that. I love to have that in a relationship."
So which famous individuals have Common dated and what industry did they achieve that fame in? Not only did we break all of that down, but we also listed the relationships in order. Sound good? If so, let's begin as we lay out Common's love life timeline.
Common shares a daughter with Kim Jones
There's a good chance that Common had puppy-dog-love relationships when he was a youngster in his hometown of Chicago. But he wasn't famous then so besides a woman named Rayshel, who's said to be his ex-girlfriend and sang on his debut album "Can I Borrow a Dollar?," there's not much known about his early dating life.
Of course, that changed as he became more famous because his first reported adult relationship was with a woman named Kim Jones. Per PopSugar, they got together in the latter part of the '90s, had a daughter named Omoye Assata Lynn (pictured above) in 1997, and broke up when their child was still a baby. Throughout the years, Common hasn't spoken much about Jones, but he has opened up about their daughter, sharing that she once questioned his love for her.
"It kind of shocked me because that's the first time I had ever heard it. I was like, 'What do you mean?'" Common told People in 2019. "She said, 'It felt like you didn't fight for me' ...That love is obviously there. But it's like sometimes I wasn't able to have as much access and without that, we couldn't build the strongest relationship." Thankfully, for the two, they patched things up after that conversation. And as far as Jones, she's always kept an incredibly low profile and as of 2022, there aren't even any photos of her on Lynn's Instagram page.
Erykah Badu was his 'first love'
From a distance, it seemed like Erykah Badu and Common were perfect for each other. They're both musicians, they have a unique bohemian flair, and they're known for writing songs that address social issues. So, when they began dating each other in 2000, it felt as right as can be. Common even once told Wendy Williams that he had serious feelings about Badu, per Vibe.
In the end, however, the relationship wouldn't last because the Texas soul singer ended it and she did it in what some might consider a cold way. "She handed it to me. I was in my hotel room on tour and ...she called me and was like, 'Hey, I don't wanna be in this relationship no more. I'm liking somebody else. That was my first love and my first heartbreak," Common explained to Williams.
Badu has also talked about their relationship and why she was ready to move on. "It was just kind of, like, we kind of were growing apart. We hadn't seen each other for a while. I told him that I needed space," she said during an interview on "The Breakfast Club." "But you know, me and Common are still very close, too. He's really sweet. He's the most compassionate human being I've ever met, I think ... He's just awesome all the way around, it's just the chemistry's a little different."
Taraji P. Henson's bittersweet breakup
Drake, Tyrese Gibson, Terrence Howard, and Common. Those are just some of the famous people that Taraji P. Henson has been linked to. But on an episode of "The Wendy Williams Show" (via Vibe), she denied dating all of those men except for the Chicago rapper. She once talked about the relationship on "Sway in the Morning" as well, explaining why she was reluctant to jump into another relationship after she and Common ended it.
"To be quite honest, I never really gone on the record and said this: Common was the last real long-term relationship I had," revealed Henson, who appeared in Common's music video for his song "Testify." "Because my son was sad. He was sad when we broke up. It affected him."
Common then admitted the breakup was tough on him as well since he couldn't see Henson's son like he used to. Then when the Midwestern wordsmith stopped by "Sway in the Morning" after Henson's interview in 2011, host Sway Calloway played a portion of their conversation about him. Some might say by the look on Common's face, it was evident that he was touched after hearing his ex talk about their time together.
He and Serena Williams were too busy
So, here's a story of a hip-hop love triangle of sorts. It involves Common, Drake, and Serena Williams. But first, let's get into the romance of Common and the person who's considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. PopSugar shows they dated from 2007-2010, but neither of them talked about it much in the beginning. In fact, when The Guardian asked Williams about the relationship in 2009, she dodged the question entirely. However, the tennis star did admit in the interview that she hoped Common would be her life-long partner because she didn't want to start all over again in another relationship.
But as it turned out, their hectic schedules would do the relationship in, which Williams talked about with Harper's Bazaar in 2010. "His schedule is actually worse than mine," she explained. "He didn't want the responsibility. It's really tough." Common spoke about the breakup as well. It was during a visit to "The Meredith Vieira Show" in 2015, and he suggested it was bad timing for himself and Williams.
Now, back to that love triangle: Drake reportedly began dating Williams in 2011, which led to a spat with Common. Both rappers sent shots at each other in song form, with Common dissing the Canadian lyricist on his song "Sweet." Drake then responded on Miami rapper Rick Ross' cut "Stay Schemin."
He and Angela Rye gave it another shot
It was a rumor until it wasn't. We're talking about Common finally admitting that he was dating former CNN commentator Angela Rye. Talk of them being a couple began in 2017. "There's a definite connection with Angela Rye," the "Be" creator said in an interview on the show "Bevelations" that same year. "She's a wonderful woman. I'm dating, I'm happy right now, and she's an incredible human being and I'm learning."
But in 2018, while talking to the New York Post, Rye confirmed that they parted ways, though there were no hard feelings. "He is an amazing human being, and I'm a much better person because he's a part of my life," she said. The split wouldn't last, however, because the two reportedly got back together in 2019. But the reunion was short-lived, and Common spoke about the second breakup with Essence in 2020. During that conversation, the rapper-turned-actor said he and Rye were still friends. Rye then gave a few more details about the breakup on her podcast, "On One with Angela Rye."
"We had been talking for about two months about let's see where things go because I'm leaning towards I want kids and he was leaning towards I don't know," she explained. "He's more established in his career. We have a little bit of an age difference, and he has a fully grown, wonderful human daughter in law school. So not wanting to start over is a thing."
He clicked with Tiffany Haddish during the pandemic
As pandemic lockdowns went into effect in 2020, dating sites had to pivot since most people were staying indoors. So the company Bumble began marketing the idea of virtual dates and brought in Common and Tiffany Haddish to help them. In a video, the two celebs can be seen going on an online date, sparking the first round of chatter about the rapper and comedian being an item. Reportedly, they met on the set of 2019's "The Kitchen."
Haddish gushed about Common during a stop at the "Steve-O's Wild Ride!" podcast, telling the host, "This is hands down the best relationship I've ever been in." The "Girls Trip" star also revealed that she was in love. But sadly for fans of the couple, they split in 2021. As for the reason, Common said he and Haddish stopped putting work into their union once the COVID-19 quarantine was over. "I don't think the love really dispersed," he explained to Jason Lee on "Hollywood Unlocked." "I think it was just like we weren't feeding the relationship."
But Haddish didn't care for Common's explanation and she let it be known during her own chat with Lee. "I was disappointed," she said. "I was like, 'Oh, okay, 'cause that's not what you told me but okay.'"
The many rumored loves of Common
Besides the people we already mentioned, Common has been linked to other famous women. In 2013, for example, some believed he was dating director Nzingha Stewart, but "The Light" rapper said they were just pals, per the Jasmine Brand.
Three years later, actor Laura Dern was rumored to be dating Common. They were spotted together heading to a restaurant in Beverly Hills, which made headlines. But before people could marry them off, Common told the New York Daily News they met while working on the 2018 film "The Tale" and became friends. Another woman who was rumored to be with the Chicago native is director Ava DuVernay. In 2015 AllHipHop reported they were seen walking around parts of Los Angeles together and looked like a couple. Neither addressed the rumor but talk of a romantic connection between them quickly subsided.
Then there's Jennifer Hudson, who Common was said to be dating in 2022. The rumor began after they were seen eating together at a Philadelphia restaurant. When the "Dreamgirls" star was asked about dating him on E! News' "Daily Pop," she evaded the question like a pro. And then, she really shut down all of the talk during an interview with ET. "People create their narratives of it and it's like, 'OK, you know, how you feel.' We shot a film together and he played my husband. We gotta eat in between those moments," said Hudson. Fair enough.