Rihanna Discusses Maternity Style and A$AP Rocky Relationship

For months, Rihanna has been making the world her pregnancy fashion runway, with her baby bump-bearing haute couture looks and simply joyful street style. In a new interview with Vogue, the Fenty Beauty founder talked about her love of getting dressed, her deep romance with A$AP Rocky, and her journey to motherhood.

"When I found out I was pregnant, I thought to myself, There's no way I'm going to go shopping in no maternity aisle. I'm sorry—it's too much fun to get dressed up. I'm not going to let that part disappear because my body is changing," the star said.

Maternity jeans are pretty much the pop music queen, trend-starter, and beauty mogul's worst nightmare. If it's not something she would have worn before she was pregnant, it's not something she will wear now, she said, admitting, however, that's it's been tough for her stylist, Jahleel Weaver. "I know he loses sleep over it because my measurements can literally change from hour to hour," Rihanna said. "In fact I'm sure he's going to ask for a raise after this!"

Rihanna has been showing off her vibrant style on red carpets, at Fenty Beauty events, on dinner dates with Rocky, and just out on the town, shopping or running errands. Most of the time, her baby bump is on full display, highlighted by a designer bra, sheer top, or skintight dress. For the most part, fans have been praising her outfit choices, but, of course, some online haters have also criticized her for exposing her skin so much now that she's becoming a mother. "I'm hoping that we were able to redefine what's considered 'decent' for pregnant women," Rihanna said. "My body is doing incredible things right now, and I'm not going to be ashamed of that. This time should feel celebratory. Because why should you be hiding your pregnancy?"

Apart from the fun fashion looks, another thing that has made her pregnancy so great is having her partner by her side. Rocky has described the "Love on the Brain" singer as "the love of my life," and she feels just the same. Not only does he share her love for risk-taking in fashion ("Like iron sharpening iron," Rihanna said), he's also genuinely her best friend and was for many years before they became romantic.

"What I love the most about us? 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.

Still, it wasn't easy for Rihanna to get to that point with Rocky. She told Vogue, "People don't get out of the friend zone very easily with me. 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."

She recalled the moment the two performed her hit single "Cockiness" together at the 2012 VMAs, when Rocky, Rihanna said, "grabbed my ass on stage." She said she was totally shocked, since it was not part of the performance, but she let it go as a funny prank. "My manager was like, Oh, God, she must like this guy a little bit. She never lets this shit slide," she said.

The two remained just friends until the world entered a COVID-19 lockdown and they began to spend most of their time together, just road tripping and hanging out. "He became my family in that time," Rihanna said of Rocky. During a summer 2020 road trip they took from Los Angeles to New York—on a tour bus—Rihanna said she would grill barefoot while Rocky tie-dyed T-shirts that they had picked up at gas stations. "I cooked our food on this little janky grill I bought from Walmart," she recalled. "I still have it, too. It works like nobody's business." Those moments, though simple, were always fun and happy, because they were together. "I love the simple things but also the grand adventures," Rihanna said. "There's no pretentious my-brand-your-brand bullshit, it's just us living."

"I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side," she added.

Before long, Rocky was meeting Rihanna's mom, who the star says is quite picky about who she approves of. But, of course, she loved the "Fashion Killa" singer right away. "There are some guys that I've dated that she won't even look at to this day. But she was charmed by him from the jump," Rihanna said.

About a year into their relationship, Rihanna found out she was pregnant. She admitted she and Rocky weren't "planning" to have a child, but they were "certainly not planning against it." She said, "I don't know when I ovulate or any of that type of shit. We just had fun." When she took a pregnancy test one day and it came out positive, she said she immediately showed Rocky, the two went to the doctor's office the next morning, "and our journey began."

The singer already knows what kind of mother she'll be (a very protective one), she isn't too concerned about the act of giving birth, and she actually hasn't bought anything to prepare for her baby's arrival. But what does worry her is the possibility of getting postpartum depression. "Will I feel out of control emotionally? Those are the stories I hear from other women that scare me," she said.

Whatever happens, she knows Rocky and both of their families will be by her side during the birth, and later, when it comes time to actually take care of the baby.

"They're going to teach me more than I could ever teach them. And I want them to go for it. I want to see who they are in the world, who they become," Rihanna said of her child. "Because I'm just here to keep them on the rails—a passenger as much as the driver."

She said she will happily accept whoever her baby turns out to be, and she's so excited to dress them up in tiny, stylish outfits—but they better love fashion.

"Don't say that! You just broke my heart!" she said after Vogue editor Chioma Nnadi asked her what she would do if her child isn't interested in fashion. "Yo! That is the day that I will have a problem, if my child don't like fashion? What?? You've got me so nervous!"

Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper's Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets. 

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