Inside Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s Relationship: From an 8-Year Slow Burn to a Family of Five

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They remained friends for close to a decade, though romance rumors began straight away.

The Gist

• Rihanna and A$AP Rocky first met in 2012 and were friends for close to a decade before confirming their relationship in 2020.
• They share two sons, RZA and Riot, and are expecting a third child.
• They’re frequent collaborators, having featured in each other’s music videos and brand campaigns.

Rihanna, who is expecting her third child with A$AP Rocky, is living a real-life “Love on the Brain” romance. The singer has been in a whirlwind romance with Rocky since 2020, following an eight-year friendship that blossomed from their joint performance at the2012 MTV Video Music Awards. Their chemistry was clear from the start (the performance included what some might call PDA) even if it took them a minute to take the leap. Since then, they've pulled off three iconic pregnancy announcements and acted as each other's biggest cheerleaders through career milestones.

Despite their power couple status, the stars seem to have a way of keeping one another grounded. Rihanna told Harper’s Bazaar that Rocky often reminds her, “No matter how hard everything is that we’re dealing with in our life, in our careers and as parents, he’s like, ‘Remember when we were friends? Remember when we just used to have fun as friends?’”

Rocky returns that energy. In a GQ interview, he referred to Rihanna as “the love of my life” and “my lady.” He added, “It’s so much better when you got the One. She amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones.”

The lovebirds have ignited marriage speculation since as early as 2022. And although they've yet to publicly confirm or deny their marital status, Rocky has referred to Rihanna in several interviews as his “wife.” During a Mystery Fashionist interview, the rapper gushed about the mother of his children, saying, “that’s my wife, that’s my everything.”

Here’s everything to know about how the music and fashion power couple met, fell in love, and went from collaborators to co-parents.

They met at the 2012 MTV VMAs rehearsals.

Rocky and Rihanna had a “will they, won’t they” vibe for years before officially getting together. Although friends for more than a decade, there was always an undeniable chemistry. They first met rehearsing for the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, gearing up for their performance of Rihanna’s song “Cockiness (Love It)” featuring Rocky. During the live performance, the rapper cheekily grabbed Rihanna’s butt onstage.

The “Diamonds” singer later recounted the moment to Interview editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg, saying, “My team was worried that I wanted to have his head on a f**king mantle. But I was like, ‘Ah, nah.’ That’s why everybody was like, ‘Oh my god. She likes him.’”

A year later, Rocky joined the U.S. dates of Rihanna’s Diamonds World Tour, further solidifying their close (but platonic—at the time) friendship.

Things turned romantic during the pandemic, and they confirmed their relationship in 2020.

In 2020, a source confirmed to People that Rocky and Rihanna were an item. The news came just days after the musical pair were spotted having dinner with some friends in New York City. In a Vogue interview, Rihanna revealed she was initially hesitant about taking her relationship with Rocky to the next level. 

“People don’t get out of the friend zone very easily with me,” she mentioned to the publication, adding, “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.”

In the same interview, she went on to explain that she and Rocky turned their friendship into a romance during the pandemic. During that time, Rihanna and Rocky took an intimate trip via a big tour bus from Los Angeles to New York. Hidden from the public eye, the two became close during lockdown, eventually locking down their relationship.

“I love the simple things but also the grand adventures,” Rihanna said to Vogue. “There’s no pretentious my-brand-your-brand bullsh*t, it’s just us living. I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side.”

They share 3 children.

Rocky and Rihanna have cemented their love with a growing family. The couple are parents to sons Riot and RZA, and are currently expecting their third child. They announced Rihanna's latest pregnancy at the 2025 Met Gala, where she accessorized her menswear-inspired look with a baby bump.

“Man, it’s amazing. Obviously, they [are] still growing into their personalities and stuff and developing, but it’s amazing,” Rocky said on “The Run-Through With Vogue” podcast. “To see them actually, like, interact with each other and interact with me and with their mom—it’s amazing. It’s beautiful.”

Rihanna shared the sentiment, calling parenthood "legendary" in a 2023 interview with British Vogue, and telling Extra that motherhood is "The most love I’ve ever known."

Rihanna makes frequent appearances in Rocky’s music videos.

While Rihanna hasn’t released an album in nearly a decade, she’s still made musical cameos,  especially in Rocky’s videos. In the rapper’s 2013 music video for his song “Fashion Killa,” Rihanna played the ultimate muse, strolling through a boutique and playfully flirting with mannequins.

Rocky even raps a lyric about his future children’s fashion sense with his chosen lady: “And Versace, got a lot (Uh) / But she may never wear it / But she save it so our babies will be flyer than their parents.”

Rihanna also starred in the 2022 video for Rocky’s “D.M.B. (Dats My B*tch),” where the pair appeared to get married. However, the nuptials were just for the cameras. Rocky wrote, directed, and executive produced the video.

Rocky has collaborated with Rihanna on Fenty Beauty projects.

In the same way Rihanna supports Rocky’s pursuits, the rapper in turn supports the singer’s entrepreneurial ventures. Back in 2020, Rocky appeared alongside Rihanna in content promoting the debut campaign for Fenty Skin. The content featured videos of Rihanna and Rocky dishing out answers to rapid-fire questions, along with explaining how they take care of their skin. 

Then, in 2024, Rocky and Rihanna starred in a short film titled “Born to Steal: Yours, Mine, Ours.” The black-and-white film evoked a vintage, Old Hollywood aesthetic, with the plot centered around Rihanna stealing Rocky’s clothes without his knowledge. The almost two-minute-long film promoted Fenty Beauty Lux Balm.

They're both deeply involved in the fashion industry.

Rihanna has long been known for her style, as well as her buzzy lingerie brand, SAVAGE X FENTY. But she's not the only fashion darling in the relationship.

Rocky is a fixture in his own right, having starred in multiple campaigns with brands like Calvin Klein, Gucci, Dior, and Bottega Veneta. In December 2024, he was honored with the Cultural Innovator Award at the Fashion Awards, presented by designer Michèle Lamy. That same month, he received the Collaboration of the Year award with Puma at the Footwear News Achievement Awards.

Naturally, Rihanna was by his side. She told Footwear News, “I always support Rocky. It’s not new for me to be here today, but I’m just so excited for him to have this achievement and have everyone revere him in the light that he deserves.”

Rocky’s latest fashion gig is joining Ray Ban as the brand’s first-ever Creative Director. According to People, the rapper’s role at the eyewear company is to be “guiding creative projects" and "shaping the future" of Ray Ban.

They’re no stranger to red-carpet moments.

Even before they were officially dating, Rihanna and Rocky appeared on red carpets together. At the 2019 British Fashion Awards, they arrived as friends, wearing coordinating looks from Rihanna’s now-closed Fenty label. She donned a mint green strapless dress, while Rocky embraced an oversized black suit.

By 2021, they stepped into the public eye as a couple, attending that year’s Met Gala wrapped up in cozy, quilt-like ensembles. They returned to the event in 2025, where Rocky was tapped to be a co-chair. That same year, they also hit the Cannes red carpet for the premiere of Highest 2 Lowest, in which Rocky stars.

They're open to more kids in the future.

With two sons and a third child on the way, Rihanna and Rocky are steadily growing their family. Rihanna mentioned in the Interview magazine interview that she’s open to having more children with the rapper. 

In terms of a specific number, the songstress simplified it to “As many as god wants me to have.” She went on to say, “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.”

Shortly after the couple announced their third pregnancy, a source told People, "They wanted to have their children close together in age, so that they could grow up together and share a close bond. They feel so blessed and are so grateful for this next chapter in their lives. It’s a very special time,” the source told People. 

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