Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are the definition of friends-turned-lovers, and their years-long romance has been sweet to witness. The pair have been together since November 2020, but fans had been obsessed with the idea of them being a couple long before then.
The Savage X Fenty creator and rapper started out as longtime friends, working together as musical collaborators in the early 2010s, but they weren’t romantically linked until almost a decade later. However, over the last year, their relationship took quite a turn after the two became first-time parents and welcomed their first child together, a son, in May 2022.
In her May 2022 Vogue cover story, Rihanna joked about her friendship-turned-romance with Rocky and said, “People don’t get out of the friend zone very easily with me,” 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.” Case in point: the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards when Rocky joined Rihanna onstage for a performance of her single “Cockiness” – a moment in which he also playfully grabbed her backside in front of the entire world.
“That was not part of the rehearsal!” Rihanna exclaimed to Vogue. “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.” Turns out, Rihanna liked Rocky a whole lot, because, in the same interview, she also said, “I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side.”
It seems she’s staying true to her word because the singer is now expecting her second child, a surprise that she unveiled during her iconic 2023 Super Bowl halftime show performance, where her beau cheered her on from the sidelines. They were most recently seen looking just as in love as ever on the 2023 Met Gala red carpet on May 1.
Let’s take a look back at Rihanna and Rocky’s romantic journey over the years.
Related: Rihanna’s Son Is Going to Be a Big Brother! Here’s Everything We Know About Her Oldest Child
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2011: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Become Music Collaborators
Rihanna and A$AP’s relationship traces all the way back to 2011 when the two collaborated on a remix of Rihanna’s song “Cockiness (Love It)” off her “Talk That Talk” album. The following year, they performed the song at the MTV Video Music Awards, and the sparks were already flying!
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2013: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Go on Tour Together
Following their collaboration, Rocky joined Rihanna on the North American portion of her Diamonds World Tour in 2013. That same year, Rihanna was featured in his “Fashion Killa” music video as the main love interest.
Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris
2013-2018: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Are Subject to Heavy Dating Rumors
For the greater portion of five years, rumors of Rihanna and Rocky dating constantly circulated in the media, despite the two having well-documented romances with other people. Rihanna dated businessman Hassan Jameel from 2017 until their split in 2020. Rocky, on the other hand, was linked with a few different people, including Kendall Jenner.
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June 2018: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Are Spotted Together at Paris Fashion Week
Despite being in a relationship with Jameel at the time, the buzz around Rihanna and Rocky’s relationship started circulating when the pair were seen cozied up at the Louis Vuitton Runway Show at Paris Fashion Week in 2018.
Getty / Stephane Cardinale-Corbis / Stephane Cardinale - Corbis
2019-2020: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Make More Public Appearances Together
Following their appearance at Paris Fashion Week, the two began to appear together at more public outings. In September 2019, Rocky was seen at Rihanna’s Diamond Ball, and just three months later, the pair attended the British Fashion Awards together in London. At the time, there was no reason to believe their quality time together was anything more than friendly. And still, in January 2020, Rihanna and Jameel broke up, though it had nothing to do with her bond with Rocky.
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November 2020: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky's Relationship Is Confirmed
After what seemed like an eternity for fans manifesting the couple, People confirmed in November 2020 that Rihanna and Rocky were in a relationship. A source also told Us Weekly that “A$AP has been very into Rihanna for years” and “was always the instigator” when the two would flirt.
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May 2021: A$AP Rocky Opens Up About Rihanna in GQ
Following a few months of dating and public outings, Rocky opened up to GQ about his relationship with Rihanna and couldn’t stop raving about his GF. In the interview, he said the singer was his “lady” and “love of his life.” When asked about the seriousness of their bond and if she was “the one,” Rocky said, “She amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones. I think when you know, you know. She’s the One.”
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September 2021: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Attend Their First Met Gala as a Couple
After several months of dating, Rocky and Rihanna stole the show together at the Met Gala with their over-the-top outfits and PDA, looking elated and so in love.
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Jan. 31, 2022: Reports Confirm Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Are Expecting Their First Child Together
Just when you thought you couldn’t be more obsessed with Rocky and Rihanna as a couple, on Jan. 31, 2022, People reported that the pair were expecting following Rihanna‘s public appearance with a baby bump in New York City the previous weekend.
Getty / Samir Hussein / WireImage / Rich Fury
May 13, 2022: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Welcome Their First Child Together
Nearly four months after announcing that they were expecting their first child, multiple reports confirmed that Rihanna and Rocky welcomed their little one, a baby boy whose name has still not been revealed, on May 13. “They have not left each other’s side,” a source told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “They are over the moon. She’s been looking forward to motherhood for a long time. This little boy is going to have the best baby fashion.”
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Feb. 12, 2023: Rihanna Announces She's Expecting Baby No. 2
Rihanna took baby reveals to the next level during the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show, where she not-so-subtly revealed a small bump while running through her many iconic hits on stage, with her beau Rocky close by filming and cheering her on. Though Rihanna‘s rep did not immediately respond to POPSUGAR’s request for comment, they later confirmed to multiple outlets after her performance that she’s, indeed, expecting her second child.
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May 1, 2023: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Attend the Met Gala
In a repeat of their buzzy 2021 Met Gala appearance, Rihanna and Rocky arrived at the biggest night in fashion very fashionably late (and long after all the livestreams had gone dark), but they still managed to steal the show in red carpet photos with their spectacular outfits and their effortless chemistry.
