Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, after nearly a decade of collaboration, have become both partners and parents. Rihanna announced her pregnancy with the couple’s second child at the 2023 Super Bowl, a mere nine months following the birth of their firstborn.
While Rihanna has penned such chart-topping tracks as ‘Work’ and ‘We Found Love’, and launched billion-dollar enterprises such as Savage X Fenty and Fenty Beauty, A$AP Rocky, also known as Rakim Mayers, has earned a reputation in the music industry with hits like ‘F**kin’ Problems’.
The two artists have always been supportive of each other’s careers, be it shared roles in music videos or collaborations in skincare campaigns, and confirmed rumors of their romance in 2021. Here is a timeline of how their relationship unfolded.
First Steps
September 2012: They performed together at the MTV VMA. The duo first joined forces when Rihanna invited Rocky to record a remix of her song ‘Cockiness (Love It)’. They performed their remix on the VMA stage, where Rocky grabbed Rihanna’s rear and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Later, Rihanna confided to Vogue that this moment of intimacy was unscripted: “He grabbed my butt on stage. It was not part of rehearsal! I was like, ‘What are you doing!?'”
March 8, 2013: Rocky joined Rihanna on tour. Rihanna hired the rapper to be the opening act for her ‘Diamonds’ world tour. The tour included 28 stops and concluded on May 5, 2013.
April 10, 2013: Rocky dismissed rumors of a relationship with Rihanna. During the video shoot for A$AP Ferg’s ‘Work’ remix, Rocky clarified their relationship status on MTV:
“Yes, I anticipated people would say that Rihanna and I had been intimate. That is not the case. I simply enjoy her company. I don’t even see her in that way. She’s attractive, indeed, but I am a decent guy.”
September 2013: Rihanna featured in Rocky’s ‘Fashion Killa’ music video. Rihanna portrayed Rocky’s love interest in his music video for ‘Fashion Killa‘, a single from his debut studio album ‘Long. Live. A$AP’.
In an interview on 106 & Park, when asked why he chose Rihanna for his video, he responded, “She’s a trendsetter in my eyes. I respect her audacity. I respect her sense of style. The chemistry was simply organic. We were cool, we were laid-back, everything was so great. We had fun.”
However, at this time, the rapper was dating model Chanel Iman.
March 27, 2015: Rocky broke up with Iman. “I was so in love. To this day, everything was good. I think we were too young, and it was something so real, so serious. I would say, the perfect girl, but the wrong timing. I hate to lose her, but that’s the way of the world. Nothing will work out right now,” he said.
When questioned about a potential romance with Rihanna, he replied, “There was never anything. If it had happened, it would have happened. But we didn’t do that.”
Rumors and Public Appearances
June 2018: They were captured at Paris Fashion Week. The pair sat side-by-side in the front row at the Louis Vuitton show, captured in photographs, smiling, with Rocky’s arm around Rihanna. At this time, Rihanna was still dating Saudi businessman Hassan Jameel, and Rocky was linked with Kendall Jenner.
September 2018: Rocky attended Rihanna’s Diamond Ball. The rapper attended the annual New York event in support of Rihanna’s foundation, which aids in fundraising for the improvement of healthcare and education programs worldwide.
September 2019: Rocky returned to the Diamond Ball. The rapper supported Rihanna’s charity event for the second consecutive year.
December 2, 2019: Rocky and Rihanna posed together at the British Fashion Awards ceremony. The superstars appeared alongside one another at another event, posing together on the British Fashion Awards’ red carpet. On this occasion, Rihanna thanked Rocky on her Instagram for his continued support of her business ventures.
January 17, 2020: They partied at the Yams Day benefit concert. Rihanna was spotted alongside Rocky and Drake at the annual charity concert, which Rocky organizes and headlines with his A$AP Mob group. Later the same day, Rihanna and Rocky were photographed laughing during the New York concert, as reported by The Sun.
Everything Grows Serious
Summer 2020: Their relationship grew serious. In a 2022 Vogue interview, Rihanna confirmed that it took Rocky “a while” to escape the “friend zone”, but stated they began dating at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. During the summer of 2020, they journeyed together from Los Angeles to New York on a tour bus. “He became my family during that time,” she revealed.
August 26, 2020: Rocky interviewed Rihanna for Vogue. Throughout a video interview where they couldn’t stop laughing, Rihanna responded to 15 questions from Rocky, primarily about fashion and skincare. At one point, Rihanna told the rapper he had “beautiful skin”. She also inquired about the most challenging aspect of working on her Fenty Skin campaign, to which he replied, “I think the hardest part about working with you is not goofing off and laughing the whole time.”
November 30, 2020: ‘People’ magazine confirmed their romance. After several months of relationship rumors, an anonymous source told People that Rihanna and Rocky were officially dating. At the time, neither star directly confirmed this claim.
December 29, 2020: They were spotted together holidaying in Barbados. Over the Christmas break, the couple vacationed in Rihanna’s homeland, Barbados. The pair was seen water-skiing, tubing, and enjoying dinner dates. They were also photographed sharing a kiss on a boat, essentially confirming their romantic relationship.
May 19, 2021: Rocky confirmed their romantic relationship and called Rihanna “The One”. In a GQ interview, the rapper referred to Rihanna as “my lady” and “the love of my life,” officially confirming the relationship rumors.
September 13, 2021: They made their red carpet debut as a couple at the Met Gala. As said on zoomboola.com, the pair arrived late to the famous fundraising event but managed to pose together on the red carpet. Rihanna wore an all-black Balenciaga ensemble in line with the theme ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’. The stylish rapper, on the other hand, was dressed in a patchwork multi-colored quilt designed by ERL.
This was the first time Rihanna officially appeared in public with her man since the 2013 Grammy Awards.
The Family
January 31, 2022: The couple announced they were expecting a child. Rihanna and Rocky were photographed strolling hand-in-hand through his hometown of Harlem on January 28. In a series of photos published by Page Six, Daily Mail, and People three days later, Rihanna’s coat was purposefully unbuttoned to showcase her growing baby bump, which she embellished with a bejeweled body chain.
During her third trimester, Rihanna told Vogue that she and Rocky hadn’t planned on starting a family, “but certainly weren’t against it.” “I don’t know when I ovulate or anything like that. We just had a good time. And then the test result came out.”
May 5, 2022: Rihanna featured in Rocky’s ‘DMB’ music video. It turned out that the ‘DMB’ music video was a project that Rocky and Rihanna shot in July 2021. In one scene, Rocky wears a grill with a clear inscription saying, ‘Marry Me?’ while Rihanna wears one that says, ‘Yes’. In another scene, Rocky removes a red veil from Rihanna’s face, reminiscent of a wedding. Then, the couple walks down an aisle hand-in-hand while people clap and throw flower petals.
May 13, 2022: Rihanna gave birth to a boy. Rihanna and Rocky welcomed a son on May 13, 2022, though this news didn’t make headlines for another week.
December 19, 2022: Rihanna shared the first video of her son. For her TikTok debut, Rihanna shared the first glimpse of her little boy in a car seat, laughing and smiling at the camera.
February 12, 2023: Rihanna announced her second pregnancy while headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. Rihanna took the stage at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, in a red jumpsuit purposefully unbuttoned to bare her growing baby bump. The singer’s representative confirmed her pregnancy to The Hollywood Reporter immediately after the performance.