Dame Dash is opening up about one of the last messages he received from Aaliyah, a moment that hits differently knowing what happened just hours later.

At the time, Dash and Aaliyah Haughton weren’t just casually dating. He has described their relationship as very serious and said she was his best friend. The two had even talked about getting married before Aaliyah’s life was tragically cut short.

Dash has also spoken about how much he loved being around Aaliyah. He once described their relationship as a friendship as much as a romance, saying he never thought he would find someone who was as cool as she was.

“I learned exactly how happy love can make a person,” Dash said in a past interview with US WEEKLY, explaining that his relationship with Aaliyah taught him to recognize and appreciate love.

That’s part of what makes his latest memory so heartbreaking. While Aaliyah was in the Bahamas filming “Rock the Boat” in August 2001, she was preparing to leave the island when Dash said she texted him about the plane.

“I don’t like the plane.” Dash told her, “Don’t get on it.”

But according to Dash, Aaliyah said she had to take the flight because of the video. Dash also recalled that she was always nervous about flying and would travel with a satin pillow that she considered her good-luck pillow.

Dash also stated that Aaliyah told him she was just going to finish the video and come right back. Unfortunately, she never made it home.

On August 25, 2001, the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Bahamas, killing Aaliyah and eight others. She was only 22.

Twenty-five years later, Dash is still talking about the woman he loved and the relationship that meant so much to him.

More Details Behind Dame Dash & Aaliyah’s Relationship

Dash and Aaliyah initially connected through mutual circles and Dash’s accountant around 1999 to 2000, eventually becoming close friends before romantic feelings developed.

In an interview, Dash shared that when they first met at a Diddy party, many high-profile figures including Jay-Z were pursuing Aaliyah’s attention, but the two of them shared an immediate, undeniable chemistry.

Despite their hectic schedules, the couple became inseparable while balancing their film, music, and business careers.

Dash has frequently shared in interviews that he and Aaliyah deeply respected and understood each other, and were genuinely considering marriage when their busy lives slowed down to allow it.

For Dash, Aaliyah’s memory clearly never left, and he often expressed that her death completely broke his heart and remains one of the most painful losses of his life.