The world may be clamoring for Rihanna to return with the long-awaited R9, but the Barbados-born singer loves nothing more right now than being a mother.
The 36-year-old is a doting mom to her boys RZA, who will turn two years old next month, and Riot Rose, now eight months old, with her longtime boyfriend A$AP Rocky.
In a new interview with Interview Magazine, she spoke candidly about being a mother, her relationship with A$AP (real name Rakim Athelaston Meyers), and her thoughts on expanding her family...
RZA's first word
In her conversation with Mel Ottenberg, Rihanna was asked what her older son RZA's first word was, and she simply revealed that it was "Hey."
She explained: "I used to try to get his attention all the time, and I would say, 'Hey, hey, hey.' And one day he said it back to me in the same melody and I kept singing it and he kept following it over and over again."
How Riot is adopting his big brother's style
The "We Found Love" hitmaker talked about feeling "bummy" next to her rapper boyfriend, because his style game was always on point. "I feel like, goddamn, I look like his assistant. I'm getting on a plane. We should be in sweats. He wants to be in a full Bottega suit. I'm like, 'Why you got to do that to me?'"
She explained that her focus now went to her two boys, who she spent so much more time dressing up in fashionable fits, just like their dad, and then finding fits for herself that emphasize comfort, calling herself a "lazy dresser" as a mom.
Describing her sons' wardrobe, she shared: "I have racks, I have bags. They're all sized and organized, and then whatever gets too small for RZA, I put into bins so that Riot can have them next. Riot is actually in all of RZA's 1-year-old clothes already. He's only six months. Everybody thinks Rocky dresses them because I dress them in Rocky outfits."
On keeping a bit of Riot and RZA with her always
Of course, as a mom on the go, Rihanna has only the most glamorous "diaper bag" (a YSL mini duffle), and described keeping a bit of her sons everywhere she goes.
SEE: Rihanna looks incredible in lingerie photos after baby number 3 confession
"When I move, I either keep a rag or a pair of socks or a pacifier, something from them," she explained, mentioning that in her current bag, she had Riot's rag and RZA's pacifier, plus medicine, vicks cough drops (for rehearsals), sunglasses, Fenty perfume, a satin hair scarf, and a pack of cards courtesy of A$AP, who gets "very competitive."
How she and A$AP started dating with "a lot of caution"
While she described first meeting the star in 2012 at the MTV Video Music Awards, and then appearing in his 2013 music video for "Fashion Killa," Rihanna clarified that they didn't actually start dating till the end of 2019.
"I've seen him in relationships. He's seen me in relationships. We've seen each other outside of relationships. We knew what we're capable of, and the trouble that we could bring to each other's lives. We can make or break each other's hearts. And so, we started dating with a lot of caution."
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This ended up being the perfect situation for them, though, as soon after, Covid-19 and the first wave of lockdown hit, which allowed them to embark on a relationship privately and lean into realizing that they were ready to start a family together.
"Because in previous relationships, I tried and tried and tried my best, and you still feel like it's not enough. So when someone sees you completely, and believes in you, and thinks you're worthy of being the mother of their kids, it's a great feeling. I felt the same about him. I knew he would be a great dad."
More kids?
Rihanna and A$AP have both openly admitted to wanting more kids, so when the subject was broached, she simply said that she desired "as many as god wants me to have."
MORE: Rihanna's 'nurturing' parenting style revealed in photos with young sons
She explained: "I don't know what god wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl. But of course if it's another boy, it's another boy."
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