Photo by Kevin Azur (for Getty Images).
By Terrance Turner
May 19, 2022
Singer Rihanna has given birth to a baby boy. She and rapper ASAP Rocky welcomed their first child on May 13, according to multiple sources. A source close to the couple told People magazine that they are at home in Los Angeles with the baby.
“They have not left each other’s side,” a source told Entertaiment Tonight. “They are over the moon. She’s been looking forward to motherhood for a long time.”
Rihanna confirmed her pregnancy in January. She made her first red-carpet appearance of the pregnancy when she attended an event celebrating her Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin brands at Goya Studios in Los Angeles on Friday, Feb. 11. (She launched her makeup brand Fenty Beauty in 2017.) At the Fenty event, Rihanna told E!’s Justin Sylvester that it was tough to keep the news a secret from her inner circle.
“It was harder for me to keep it from my posse, because they’re around me, they know my habits,” she said. “They’re like, ‘You don’t want something to drink? You’re not smoking?’ And I’m eating all the things I’m not used to eating. They know I hate sweets and I’m all of a sudden asking for cookies and donuts. But finally, I just had to let it all out, and they were all shocked, of course, as the world was shocked as well.”
“When I first found out, it’s [like it’s] not real, you know? I was like, ‘This is not for real, right?'” she said. “And then, it was and it’s almost like you don’t want to get too excited too soon because it’s great news, but you…want to see that it’s going to see its way through. And I’m so glad that we’re this far along and now I can celebrate with everyone.”
In March, Rihanna stunned in a silver long-sleeved crop top and matching maxi skirt at the launch of Fenty Beauty at ULTA Beauty stores in Los Angeles, California. (Fenty debuted in March at Ulta Beauty, a chain of beauty stores that carry cosmetics, fragrances, and bath and body products. According to Elle magazine, Ulta Beauty is one of the largest beauty retailers in the country.)
Rihanna was inspired to create Fenty Beauty after years of experimenting with the best in beauty and still seeing a void in the industry for products that performed across all skin types and tones. So Rihanna developed a new brand with French luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey. Fenty Beauty launched in 2017, with 40 (and later 50) different shades of foundation, 30 shades of makeup sticks, six highlighter shades, and lip gloss (per Buzzfeed News).
The brand immediately drew praise for its diverse range of shades. “Fenty Beauty is for everyone,” Rihanna told The Times of London. “All skin tones and races.” By 2018, its first full calendar year, the line was bringing in more than $550 million in annual revenues, according to LVMH. According to Forbes, the brand has made Rihanna a billionaire: “The bulk of her fortune (an estimated $1.4 billion) comes from the value of Fenty Beauty, of which Forbes can now confirm she owns 50%.”
In April, Rihanna took social media by storm when she appeared on the cover of Vogue’s May issue. In a Paris photoshoot by famed photographer Annie Leibowitz, the singer stuns in a series of lush, revealing outfits: a red Alaiia bodysuit, a belly-baring coral ensemble by Rick Owens, a black Yves Saint Laurent coat, and a form-fitting white Alaiia gown.
In the accompanying interview, Rihanna opens up about her pregnancy and her risque maternity style. She has made headlines (and attracted criticism) for her maternity wear — a skintight peach minidress she wore to the Gucci show in Paris, a little black dress she wore to a Dior fashion show. But Rihanna’s not holding back. “I’m hoping that we were able to redefine what’s considered ‘decent’ for pregnant women,” she says in the interview. “My body is doing incredible things right now, and I’m not going to be ashamed of that. Because why should you be hiding your pregnancy?”
Rihanna certainly isn’t. She told Vogue: “When I found out I was pregnant, I thought to myself, ‘There’s no way I’m going to go shopping in no maternity aisle.’ I’m sorry — it’s too much fun to get dressed up. I’m not going to let that part disappear because my body is changing.”
One thing that also seems to be changing: her relationship status. Rapper A$AP Rocky confirmed their relationship in an interview with GQ in May 2021, calling Rihanna “the love of my life”: “I think when you know, you know. She’s the One.” A year later Rihanna tells Vogue that the two became closer during the summer of 2020, when they took an epic cross-country road trip from New York to Los Angeles.
Traveling across the country on a big tour bus, they escaped the glare of the public eye. They’d park and Rihanna would grill barefoot while Rocky tie-dyed T-shirts picked up at the gas station. “I cooked our food on this little janky grill I bought from Walmart,” she recalls to Vogue. “I still have it, too.”
Despite their busy careers and many endeavors, the two were able to relax and enjoy each other’s company. “I love the simple things but also the grand adventures. […] There’s no pretentious my-brand-your-brand bulls–t, it’s just us living,” she told Vogue writer Chioma Nnadi. “I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side.”
Nnadi asked Rihanna what she loves most about their relationship. As if on cue, her phone started to buzz — with a call from A$AP, on FaceTime. Nnadi noted the vibe of mutual affection: “They exchange I love yous before hanging up, their ease and warmth palpable.” After the call, Rihanna answered. “What I love the most about us? Transparency with everything: how we’re feeling, what our goals are, what our fears and insecurities are. The vulnerability to be able to say what you feel about each other.”
Were they planning to conceive? “Planning? I wouldn’t say planning. But certainly not planning against it. I don’t know when I ovulate or any of that type of shit. We just had fun,” she told Vogue. “And then it was just there on the test. I didn’t waste any time. I called him inside and showed him. Then I was in the doctor’s office the next morning and our journey began.”
The journey continues.
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