The Oscar winner was "caught in between" his relationship with longtime girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell and a woman with whom he he'd recently met, the New York Post reported quoting law-enforcement sources.
Hoffman's new friend was probably the reason O'Donnell, who has three children with the actor, asked him to leave the home they shared together.
The other reason for the actor to leave the home that he shared with O'Donnell was his drug problem that was getting out of control.
He felt "ashamed that he was going out and hanging out and drinking" after having been sober for so long.
Hoffman had first gone through rehab after college and then remained clean for about 23 years before his relapse last year.