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Former Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs was in a Dedham, Massachusetts, courtroom Monday for Day 1 of his trial on assault charges.

Stefon Diggs’ accuser testified Monday in his assault trial that the two had a prior sexual relationship before he hired her. Diggs watched in court Monday as his former personal chef testified about the had a sexual relationship before he hired her to cook his meals. Diggs’ trial on charges of “felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery” opened Monday in Norfolk County District Court in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Diggs’ accuser, Jamila “Mila” Adams, says that Diggs violently assaulted her when they had a dispute over what she says are unpaid wages owed to her by Diggs. The revelation of a previous, intimate relationship adds a new layer to the case that could influence how jurors interpret the events at the center of the charges.

The former New England Patriots wide receiver has denied Adams’ accusations and earlier entered a plea of not guilty. Diggs’ attorney Andrew Kettlewell repeated that denial in his opening statement Monday.

“The assault that the Commonwealth described in their opening statement never happened,” Kettlewell told jurors, as quoted by ESPN.com. “It did not happen.”

But under oath Monday, Adams gave testimony that could change the course of the trial. With sharply different versions of events already emerging, the role of their prior relationship could become a pivotal issue as the trial unfolds.

Accuser Testifies to Sexual Relationship With Diggs

Adams said that she and Diggs became friends and then had a sexual relationship years before Diggs hired her in February 2025, according to an account from TMZ. The personal chef called her relationship with Diggs “complicated.”

“I would say it’s complicated. It started out as friends,” Adams testified in the Massachusetts courtroom. “We met, it became sexual, and we would meet up, hang out, and we decided I would come work for him around February 2025.”

Diggs’ lawyer described Adams as “seething” at Diggs on the evening the alleged assault would have taken place, because she had been excluded from a trip to Miami on which other members of Diggs’ entourage were going.

“That morning, Ms. Adams was not happy,” Kettlewell told the jury, as quoted by Court TV. “Instead, she was quietly seething about being left off that trip to Miami.”

According to the lawyer, Diggs did not include Adams on the trip because she was “feuding” with a business associate of Diggs.

Lack of Injury Photos Questioned by Diggs’ Defense

Adams gave her description of the alleged assault in her sworn testimony, claiming that Diggs slapped her across the face, striking her cheek with his open hand.

“When I went up to push his hand, to block him, he took his arm and came around my neck, gripping with his elbow around my neck, and began to choke me — pressure on my neck with his elbow,” Adams testified.

But the defense attorneys questioned her account, showing videos in court that appeared to show Adams in the days following the alleged incident. They showed her dancing and having a good time, according to Boston’s WCVB-TV.

Diggs’ defense attorneys also played a video taken with a dashcam inside the car of someone in Diggs’ entourage. In it, Adams can be seen in the front seat following the alleged incident, according to WCVB. That video did not appear to show any bruises or injuries from the alleged assault.

Adams’ testimony frequently drew objections from Diggs’ lawyers, who said that her answers strayed from the subjects of the questions they asked her. Judge Jeanmarie Carroll admonished Adams at least twice, telling the Diggs accuser to answer only the question asked.