Karrueche Tran and Victor Cruz were living their separate lives on opposite ends of the country. In their completely different worlds, they were both involved in toxic situations. All the messy details surrounding their respective relationships flooded the headlines. Life has a funny way of working itself out, though. After moving forward and leaving the past behind, they found themselves back on the market. Both single and open to giving and receiving true love, it was the perfect opportunity for them to take things to the next level.
By keeping their relationship away from the tabloid magazines, they’ve found peace within each other. But getting to this point wasn’t easy.
Here’s what Karrueche and Victor Cruz had to go through in order to find real love with one another.
A public breakup
Chris Brown and Rihanna’s relationship came to an end in 2009 after an altercation that occurred following a pre-Grammy award party. Despite everything that went down, Rihanna gave consent for her restraining order against Chris to be downgraded in February 2011. By that time, Chris was working to repair his reputation and ended up falling for California native Karrueche Tran in the process. He and Karrueche went public with their relationship in early 2011 and Karrueche became Chris’ stylist for various photoshoots.
Their new love wouldn’t last. Without a restraining order to keep them apart, Chris and Rihanna reconnected. He attended her 24th birthday party in February 2012, before providing some raunchy vocals to the remix of her song “Birthday Cake.” According to E! News, Chris was spotted making out with Rihanna at a Manhattan nightclub in Oct. 2012. The next night, they were seen looking cozy at a Jay Z concert. This left everyone to wonder what happened to Karrueche.
The day after the Jay Z concert, Chris released a statement saying he wanted to be single so he could focus on his career. He added, “I love Karrueche very much, but I don’t want to see her hurt over my friendship with Rihanna.”
After dumping her in the most embarrassing way, he was spotted out with Rihanna more and more. But Karrueche was never too far away. A source told Hip Hollywood following their public breakup, Chris hired Karrueche to style him for an upcoming photo shoot. The source added there was no way they would ever reconcile and Chris even had his staff escort Karrueche around his house so she could pick up her belongings. The source didn’t deny they still had feelings for each other though.
Chris and Karrueche together again
By early 2013, Rihanna and Chris were officially an item. However, it only lasted a few months. Weeks after their split, Chris and Karrueche were back living under the same roof.
Over the next few years, Karrueche would deal with Chris’ alleged substance abuse issues, infidelity rumors, his failed rehab stint and his time behind bars. In December 2014, another breakup led to Chris accusing Karrueche of taking secret trips to Toronto to go on dates with Drake. Chris also exposed some juicy details about his and Karrueche’s intimate activities, including her acceptance of him inviting other women into their bedroom.
Their breakup didn’t last long. They reconciled in 2015 and Karrueche made it clear she wanted to get married and start a family. Chris was down with having kids, but he wasn’t interested in tying the knot. Karrueche hoped that maybe one day he would change his mind.
Dropping a bombshell
Just months after reconciling, she received a text message from Chris that said, “I need to talk to you in person.” Karrueche told Iyanla Vanzant that she went online and found out through social media that he fathered a child with a woman named Nia Guzman.
An old photo of Nia and Karrueche resurfaced online. To many, it was clear Chris betrayed Karrueche by impregnating someone she was cordial with.
In his documentary entitled Chris Brown: Welcome To My Life, he said the baby was conceived during one of his and Karrueche’s many breakups. He apologized profusely and dropped flowers off at her home. However, Karrueche decided enough was enough.
During an interview with Big Boy TV, she said she smoked herself into a state of numbness. She became obsessed with the comments people were leaving on social media and soon realized she was suffering from depression. She was at her lowest point, but she didn’t blame anyone but herself. She told Iyanla Vanzant, “I own up to all the poor choices I have made and pray for the better.”
A new Karrueche
Karrueche began to focus on herself. She pursued an acting career by landing a role in the TNT show Claws. She also won two Daytime Emmy Awards for producing the digital series entitled The Bay. She collaborated with makeup brand Colourpop and modeled for various brands. Life was finally looking up for her or so we thought.
In April 2017, she was spotted leaving a Migos concert with group member Quavo. In June of that same year, at a BET Awards after-party, Quavo and his two Migos group mates got into an altercation with Chris. Hollywood Life website speculated the argument stemmed from Quavo’s involvement with Karrueche.
It seemed like Chris was going to have a problem with any man that showed Karrueche some attention. So how was she supposed to finally move on?
Things get scary
She put a plan in motion by making it clear to Chris that they were over for good. In return, Chris reportedly demanded she give him back the money and gifts he gave her during their relationship. Karrueche refused, which prompted Chris to start flooding her inbox with angry text messages. In one message, he allegedly wrote: “I promise you I will make your life hell.” He also told a few people if he can’t have her, no one can. He also posted this video online.
In June 2017, Karrueche compiled all of her evidence and allegations that Chris laid hands on her during their relationship and presented it to a judge. Chris didn’t bother to show up to the hearing.
According to TMZ, she was granted a five-year restraining order and Chris was told to stay 100 yards away from her, her mom, and her brother. Months later, The Blast reported Karrueche and Chris came to a secret agreement that allowed them to attend the same industry events, such as award shows and celebrity birthday parties, as long as Chris remained peaceful and on his best behavior.
Quavo seemingly wanted no part of Karrueche, her ex-boyfriend, and all the drama that came along with it. In July 2017, he reportedly dumped her for a dancer and shared the news on his Snapchat by writing “new b***h alert.”
Victor Cruz & Elaina Watley’s story
Now it’s time to take you on a trip to the east coast, where Victor Cruz was going through his own personal issues. After meeting a woman named Elaina Watley in 2003 when they were both still in high school, they built a beautiful life together and Elaina gave birth to their daughter Kennedy Cruz in 2012.
2012 turned out to be one of the best years of their lives. Victor led the New York Giants to a Super Bowl win, and Elaina launched a sports and marketing agency called Brand Infinite. She also became Victor’s agent and sat on the board of his charity, the Victor Cruz Foundation.
He and Elaina were climbing the ranks to become one of the industry’s most beautiful power couples. They sat front row at various fashion shows, Victor landed a spot on Vanity Fair’s style council, and the couple even snagged an invite to Anna Wintour’s exclusive Met Gala.
The salsa-dancing football player had a lot to thank Elaina for. Not only was she instrumental in his success on and off the field, but Victor told Page Six that Elaina was the backbone of his life.
A beautiful proposal
On July 13, 2014, during their daughter’s dedication ceremony, Victor proposed. Even though it took them eleven years to get engaged, Elaina told Page Six they didn’t have concrete wedding plans. They were considering either a destination wedding or an “iconic” New York ceremony. Neither of these ideas would come to pass because the couple never made it down the aisle.
Months after their engagement, Victor suffered a torn tendon during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Unable to play, he reportedly found an interesting way to keep himself busy.
Victor gets busted
In October 2015, Mediatakeout posted screenshots of a group text message Elaina sent to all of Victor’s side chicks. In the message, she wanted the women to know she and Victor were still very much together. She added: “I figured since you all know about me, then I should introduce each one of you to each other so we can all know who we have all been f*****g for the past several months.” The text continued with, “So ladies meet one another and feel free to exchange notes.”
According to Bossip, Elaina and Victor then broke up. Victor moved out of their northern New Jersey mansion, and Elaina purchased a $1.2 million dollar home about 30 minutes away. Elaina picked up the pieces and kept herself busy by raising their daughter and running her eyelash extension business that Victor helped her launch. As of this article, she has opened two additional locations in the Jersey area and she and Victor are co-parenting peacefully.
It wasn’t until a May 2017 interview with The Breakfast Club that Victor discussed Elaina outing him to all his side chicks. He said, “It wasn’t the easiest situation to go through.” When Charlamagne da God asked what happened to all of the women that were included in the group chat, Victor answered, “They all got curved after that.”
Making his first move
In 2017, Victor was ready to jump back into the dating world. He told Wendy Williams he would always see Karrueche around because they had mutual friends. He finally made the first move by inviting her to his L.A. birthday party in November 2017. He said, “I wound up staying in LA an extra day so that we could go on our first date together.”
He took her to the movies to see a replay of his favorite film, Pulp Fiction. And while Victor was smitten from the start, Karrueche was a bit apprehensive. She told ABC Radio she asked him several times, “Are you sure you’re single?” She just wanted to make sure the coast was clear before jumping into a relationship. He confirmed that he was back on the market, so they moved forward with their romance and never looked back.
In an interview with ABC Radio, Karrueche described their relationship as real and authentic, but they’re taking things slow. She told Big Boy TV, “He does his thing and I have my thing and my space and we come back together.”
After Victor retired from the NFL in 2018, they maintained their separate residences. Frequent FaceTime sessions help keep the spark alive when they’re apart.
What’s next for Karrueche and Victor Cruz?
In April 2019, Victor told Us Weekly they were taking their relationship one day at a time, but he loved everything about her. He said, “She helps me keep comfortable, she helps me be myself around her, and everything we do is an adventure.”
Ahead of their two year anniversary, Victor told Us Weekly he was still head over heels for her. He remained coy about when he would pop the question, but many people believe it’s only a matter of time before he puts a ring on it. The love they have for each other is undeniable.
Are Karrueche and Victor Cruz built to last? Drop a comment below or on our YouTube channel!