Timbaland, Aaliyah: Producer Says He Was ‘In Love’ With Her

Superstar producer Timbaland has revealed a long-held secret about his relationship with the late R&B singer Aaliyah. Ten years after her tragic death, Aaliyah's producer and collab partner has confessed that he was madly in love with her!

In a candid new episode of E!'s 'True Hollywood Story,' which airs Dec. 19, Timbo speaks on everything from his life-long struggle with his weight to his past battles with suicidal thoughts. But it is his never-before-mentioned Aaliyah confession that may be the biggest surprise of the TV tell-all.

"When I first met Aaliyah -- it's time for the world to hear this, I'm gonna give a little secret -- I was in love with her," Timbo admits on camera for the first time. He went on to explain why he never acted on his strong feelings. "I said, 'She [is] just a baby, I'm old'. I said to myself, 'I'm just gonna be her brother'. Oh man, I was fightin', I was fightin' a lot -- a big war. But I loved Aaliyah."

Aaliyah, who would be turning 33 next month (Jan. 16), died in a plane crash traveling from the Bahamas on August 25, 2001. She was just 22. Timbaland, 40, produced and wrote the majority of the tracks on the star's second studio album, 1996's 'One in a Million.'