Not many people can say they've been hand-selected by Rihanna [1] to be the face of Fenty Beauty [2] — or anything else, for that matter — but Kane Lim definitely can. Ahead of "Bling Empire"'s return to Netflix [3], the 32-year-old Oppenheim Group real estate agent [4] spoke with POPSUGAR about his years-long friendship with the new mom [5] and how that led to him becoming a Fenty ambassador [6].
"I've known her for seven, eight years on social media," Lim says of Rihanna [7]. "She hand-selects all of her ambassadors, and I'm so proud to be the first Southeast Asian ambassador for Fenty. I think she picks people who have a story and are different. I'm not a model, I don't have a six-pack, but growing up, at 200 pounds, I've always been insecure about my weight [and] my looks, and that campaign has helped me a lot. And hopefully, it's helped other people as well."
Lim has yet to meet Rihanna's newborn, whom she welcomed with boyfriend A$AP Rocky [8] in May. However, they did link up at a Fenty event back in February. "I saw her before she gave birth. We had a really nice, private moment," Lim recalls. "I gave her something, and I said I wanted to thank her for really helping me. I said, 'This is bigger than a campaign. You're actually helping me in terms of my personal life as well. You helped me find confidence, and it's my turn to share that with the world.' I feel a responsibility now to be able to share this experience with someone. I'm super excited for the future."
Lim is currently gearing up for season three of "Bling Empire [9]," out Oct. 5. Even though we won't be seeing anymore of the back-and-forth between Lim and Dorothy Wang (she's since moved to New York [10], where she's "hanging out with a new fabulous crew and having the best time"), according to the show's synopsis, the new installment follows Kane as he "books a major fashion campaign and surprisingly starts a whole new career."