Emmy-winning actor Sterling K. Brown revealed a surprising story about his past crush on Jennifer Lopez, his co-star in the movie “Atlas.” This happened long before they worked together, back when Brown was in New York and admired J-Lo from watching her on MTV. However, this crush almost caused trouble in his relationship with his now-wife while they were still dating.
Brown and his wife, Ryan Michelle Bathe, were recently on “The Jennifer Hudson Show.” Right away, Hudson jumped into asking about the interesting and exciting details of their story.
On “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” Hudson asked, “Is it true you two broke up because of Jennifer Lopez?” Ryan Michelle Bathe, Sterling K. Brown’s wife, laughed and replied, “Who told you that?” before the couple confirmed it was true.
Sterling, star of “This Is Us,” explained the story. He remembered watching J-Lo’s first music video on MTV and turned to his wife to ask which video it was. She quickly answered, “Love Don’t Cost A Thing!”—her hit song from 2000.
Sterling then shared more details. He and his wife were living in New York City, in grad school, and had just gone to see a Broadway show. When they got back to his place, his roommate was playing the J-Lo video on MTV. Sterling admitted he was a big fan of her dancing and tried to hide his reaction while watching the video.
Sterling K. Brown explained that while watching Jennifer Lopez’s video, he was a big fan of her dancing. He knew his girlfriend (now his wife) was watching him, so he tried not to react. But in trying so hard, his eyes started to water.
His wife, Ryan Michelle Bathe, jumped in, joking, “Also known as tears.”
Sterling laughed, admitting he should’ve turned the channel off, but Ryan corrected him. She told Jennifer Hudson that he wasn’t just tearing up—he was “weeping” over J-Lo, who was still “Jenny from the block” back then.
Ryan said, “I turned around and saw my boyfriend crying with big, fat tears while J-Lo was dancing, and I thought, ‘Oh no, I have to leave.’”
Sterling K. Brown shared that his girlfriend, Ryan Michelle Bathe, “left” the room while he was begging her to “stay” with him. But her response was, “No, I just … I can’t!”
Ryan, 48, explained further to Jennifer Hudson, saying, “I told him, ‘You’re crying over someone else’s booty … right in front of me?’”
Jennifer Hudson, known for her humor, jokingly teased Sterling K. Brown, saying, “Sterling, you should be ashamed!”
She posted a clip of the funny moment on her Instagram, and fans couldn’t stop talking about how adorable the couple was.
Viewers joined in with their own comments after watching the funny moment. One person said, “I can relate—Jennifer Lopez had that effect on 21-year-old guys like me too, but we grow up.” Another joked, “Bruh, you were never gonna win this one,” and a third added, “Tears … but that video is [fire emoji].”
Jennifer Hudson asked if Jennifer Lopez knew about Sterling’s reaction to her music video, and the couple confirmed that she did. In an interview with Access, Sterling revealed that he and Ryan had actually broken up for “three and a half years” over his tears during the video. Lopez, surprised, said, “I didn’t know that was your wife!”
Fans on social media joked about it too, with one person tweeting, “Send this to the accounts saying Sterling K. Brown doesn’t like JLo… His wife has been side-eyeing him for 20+ years over his love for Ms. Lopez lol.”
Ryan Michelle Bathe is also a successful actress and producer, known for her roles in “Boston Legal,” “Eureka!,” and “One for the Money.” During the show, Hudson asked about her celebrity crush, and Ryan admitted it was German-born actor Boris Kodjoe. Just three months after she told Sterling that, she was cast as Kodjoe’s wife in the movie “All About Us.”
To make things even more awkward, they had a love scene where Ryan had to take her clothes off. She had promised her husband she’d wear pasties, but later confessed that the heat made them fall off.
Ryan Michelle Bathe shared a funny moment from filming, saying, “Not to be unprofessional, but the pasties just wouldn’t stay on.”
Sterling K. Brown teased her, joking, “It must’ve been really tough having to be so close to Boris Kodjoe without those pasties!” Then he laughed and added, “If it were Boris Yeltsin, would you have worn them?”
Bathe, laughing, said if it had been the former Russian president, she wouldn’t have done the movie at all.
Even with these playful moments about celebrity crushes, Brown and Bathe are one of Hollywood’s favorite couples. Both from St. Louis, Missouri, they met at Stanford University and later went to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where they both earned their MFAs. After eloping in 2006, they’ve been happily married for over 15 years.
The couple has two sons, Andrew and Amaré.
