Rihanna Dishes On Her And A$AP Rocky’s Journey To Love
Rihanna is finally opening up about her relationship with A$AP Rocky. The couple has been friends for years, but reportedly sparked a romance in 2020 and now they are having their first child together. The Harlem rapper gushed about their relationship in a past interview with GQ where he called the “Needed Me” singer “the one.” “So much better when you got the One,” he said. “She amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones. I think when you know, you know. She's the One.”
RiRi has remained relatively silent about their love until now. The singer covered the May 2022 issue of Vogue where she dished on becoming a mother and what made her fall for Rocky.
“People don’t get out of the friend zone very easily with me,” she said. “And I certainly took a while to get over how much I know him and how much he knows me because we also know how much trouble we can land each other in.” As mentioned before, the couple has been friends for many years. They collaborated on the “Cockiness (Love It)” remix in 2012 and she was his muse in his 2013 “Fashion Killa” music video.
Rihanna recalled the moment they performed the “Cockiness (Love It)” remix at the 2012 VMAs, in which her manager noticed there may have been some chemistry then. “He grabbed my ass on stage. That was not part of the rehearsal!” she said. “I was like, Whatare you doing!? My manager was like, Oh, God, she must like this guy a little bit. She never lets this shit slide.”
Fast-forward to summer 2020, when the couple took a road trip from Los Angeles to New York together. They were cooped up in a tour bus and stayed out of the public eye. The Barbadian beauty would cook on a “little janky grill I bought from Walmart” and Rocky would tie-dye T-shirts he bought from the major retailer. “I love the simple things but also the grand adventures,” she said. “There’s no pretentious my-brand-your-brand bullshit, it’s just us living. I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side.”
Then the holiday season came and fans saw paparazzi photos of the couple spending time in Rihanna’s home country of Barbados. However, it wasn’t exactly what we thought. The mom-to-be shared that Rocky also has a connection to her home country. The “Peso” rapper’s father is also from Barbados. She said it was “heartwarming” to watch her beau envision his dad as a boy and walk the same streets that his father walked.
During their time on the beautiful island, Rocky was also able to win over Rihanna’s mother. “My mother has a really good read on people. She observes first and then she’ll move slowly,” she said. “I guess I’m like that too. There are some guys that I’ve dated that she won’t even look at to this day. But she was charmed by him from the jump.”
And while she would love to raise their child in Barbados, she knows that it’s not realistic with being who they are and so they are still figuring out where to live.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Taylor Hill/WireImage/Getty Images
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Regina King Reflects On Grief and Loss After Her Son’s Death: ‘The Sadness Will Never Go Away.’
The pain of losing a child is an experience that no parent wants to go through — and actress Regina King is now ready to speak about her experience with grief two years after her son’s passing.
In her first TV interview appearance since her son, Ian Alexander Jr., died by suicide in January 2022, King sat down with Good Morning America, to reflect on the tragic loss.
“I’m a different person, you know, now than I was January 19,” King shared. “Grief is a journey, you know? I understand that grief is love that has no place to go.”
“I know that it’s important for me to honor Ian in the totality of who he is, speak about him in the present because he is always with me and the joy and happiness that he gave all of us,” she added.
The Shirley star also added that it's vital to discuss the common misconception surrounding depression, noting that battles with mental health can manifest in diverse ways. “When it comes to depression, people expect it to look a certain way — they expect it to look heavy,” King told Robin Roberts.
“To have to experience this and not be able to have the time to just sit with Ian’s choice, which I respect and understand… He didn’t want to be here anymore, and that’s a hard thing for other people to receive because they did not live our experience, did not live Ian’s journey.”
Jeff Kravitz / Contributor/Getty Images
The Academy Award winner openly revealed that she was initially “so angry with God.”
“Why would that weight be given to Ian? Of all of the things that we had gone through — therapy, psychiatrists, programs — and Ian was like, ‘I’m tired of talking, Mom,' " she said.
With the memory of her son near to her, King said through tears, “My favorite thing about myself is being Ian’s mom and I can say that with a smile, with tears, with all of the emotion that comes with that. I can’t do that if I did not respect the journey.”
Anderson, 26, was a musician, DJ, and King’s only child. In 2019, Ian escorted his mother on the red carpet of the Golden Globes where she took home the award for "Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture."
He toldE! News at the time, "She's just a super mom. She doesn't really let bad work days or anything come back and ruin the time that we have. It's really awesome to have a mother who I can enjoy spending time with."
Understanding that grief is shared by many others, King emphasizes the unique weight of her role as Ian's mother and acknowledges that the sadness will always be a part of her.
“Sometimes, a lot of guilt comes over me. When a parent loses a child, you still wonder, ‘What could I have done so that wouldn’t have happened?’ I know that I share this grief with everyone, but no one else is Ian’s mom, you know? Only me. So it’s mine. And the sadness will never go away. It will always be with me.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Shannon Finney / Stringer/Getty Images