Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were friends and collaborators for a decade before they began dating. In fact, the rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, famously grabbed Rihanna's butt and kissed her on the cheek during their 2012 MTV Video Music Awards performance. Rihanna recalled the incident in her 2022 interview with Vogue.
"He grabbed my ass onstage," she said. "That was not part of the rehearsal! I was like, What are you doing?! My manager was like, 'Oh, god, she must like this guy a little bit. She never lets this sh*t slide.'"
Still, it wasn't until 2020 that the two began dating one another. Rihanna told the publication that A$AP Rocky became like "her family" during the pandemic. They even bonded during a cross-country road trip. Since then, they've built a relationship grounded in trust.
Rihanna explained the key to their healthy relationship. "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," she said.
For his part, A$AP Rocky confirmed his romance with Rihanna in a 2021 interview with GQ. At the time, he called the Fenty Beauty founder "my lady." "[Rihanna] amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones," he said, adding that she's "the love of my life."
Since then, the duo have gone on to welcome a son together. While they haven't revealed his name, their little boy arrived on May 13, 2022.
