Atlanta producer Jermaine Dupri shared his thoughts about marriage during a recent appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast. For the uninitiated, Dupri's dating history includes a high-profile relationship with Janet Jackson from 2002 to 2009, according to Complex. The music producer has never been married.Jermaine Dupri recently opened up about why he doesn't believe in marriage during his appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast episode A Deal Is A Deal, which aired on Patreon on August 18, 2025, saying,"I don't feel like you buy the Lamborghini for your wife. You buy the Lamborghini to go down the block so n***as can see you and new women can see you and it's like... If you have aspirations for the boy lifestyle, I don't know how marriage works."Jermaine Dupri also recounted an encounter he had with Sony Publishing's CEO, Martin N. Bandier. The producer recalled running into Bandier while on a boating trip in an unknown location. Dupri said he was on a yacht partying with loud music and topless women when a bigger yacht, holding Bandier and his family, pulled up next to them.Dupri added Bandier came to his yacht and told him, "JD, don't ever be the n***a that own that boat over there," while pointing to his own yacht, which led Dupri to believe the CEO preferred to be on his yacht with the women and the parties instead of on his quiet yacht with his family.Exploring Jermaine Dupri and Janet Jackson's relationshipJanet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri began dating in 2002 following Jackson's divorce from her second husband, René Elizondo Jr. According to PrimeTimer, the couple reportedly met backstage at one of Jackson's shows and began their relationship; however, they had broken up by 2009.In a 2020 interview with T.I. on his expediTIously podcast, Dupri said that long distance was one of the major reasons for their breakup, as Jackson lived in Malibu and Dupri in Atlanta. He said that neither wanted to move to the other's city, causing a rift in their relationship.Jermaine Dupri also spoke about the aspect of marriage in the same interview, saying:“I started seeing so many other things that I wanted to do, and so many other places that I wanted to go. I started thinking like marriage for me wasn’t gonna work. Just, something about it. When you feel like you’re ready to get married, you don’t have no answers, you just know what it is.”He continued:“I was in the space. I’m not gon’ front and say that I wasn’t. I felt married… I think the only thing that created a difference for me was the fact that we didn’t live together. We had an eight-year, nine-year relationship, but we didn’t live with each other.”Jimmy Jam, Usher, Janet Jackson, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox celebrate Jackson's birthday at On The Record at Park MGM In Las Vegas on May 14, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Image via Getty)Despite their breakup, Jermaine Dupri and Janet Jackson maintain a cordial relationship to this day. In 2017, the pair reconnected during Jackson's "State of the World” tour in Atlanta and were reportedly seen holding hands, rekindling rumors of romance.An insider told E! Online at the time that Jackson and Dupri were "hooking up," and they seemed "closer than before." However, neither Dupri nor Jackson confirmed their relationship, and the two appear to be friends as of this writing.According to Newsweek, Jermaine Dupri appeared on Janet Jackson's 2022 Lifetime documentary, where he dubbed the singer an "iconic triple threat.""She's one of the s*xiest women in the world, I think she gave more women confidence to try everything. I feel like we're always going to have a friendship, regardless of what I'm doing or who's in my life, or regardless of what's going on. I didn't need Janet Jackson to amplify my life, but I feel like it did," he added.In other news, Janet Jackson received the Icon of the Year award at the 2025 American Music Awards, held this May at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The singer also performed live on television for the first time in seven years, singing All for You and Someone to Call My Lover.