A Timeline Of Rihanna And A$AP Rocky's Relationship

The following article includes brief references to domestic abuse.

Rihanna burst onto the music scene with her 2005 hit "Pon de Replay." Since then, she's become one of the biggest stars on the planet, putting "Work" into revolutionizing the fashion and beauty industry. Whether she's posing for Savage X Fenty, starring in a movie, or giving fans that Fenty Beauty glow, the mogul can never escape questions about her personal life. Rihanna has had a few highly publicized relationships, starting in 2009 when she dated singer Chris Brown. The infamous relationship ended when the two got into a fight the night before the Grammys, and photos of the black-and-blue singer floated around the internet.

Then there was her relationship with rapper and longtime collaborator Drake. Fans got the gist that the "Started from the Bottom" rapper may have been way more into the relationship than she was when he passionately introduced her as the Vanguard Award recipient at the 2016 MTV VMAs. But in between each of Rihanna's relationships were rumors of romance with rapper A$AP Rocky. The two have always been in each other's orbit, supporting one another's music and attending industry events together, but it wouldn't be until 2020 that the pair became official. 

Let's take a journey through the timeline of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky's relationship.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky's relationship started off professionally when he jumped on her "Cockiness (Love It) (Remix)." The song was a deluxe single from RiRi's "Talk That Talk" album. Rocky takes the first verse of the track with lyrics like, "I go cuckoo for your Cou cou / Your flying fish is my favorite dish." This may sound overtly sexual, and it probably is, but Cou cou served with flying fish is also Barbados' national dish. Leave it to Rocky to shout out the singer's home country through an innuendo.

"For some reason, she loves me," Rocky told Complex about the collaboration. "I'm not even saying in a sexual way, if that makes any sense to you. It's just like inspiration. It was Rihanna's idea. Only thing I did was a verse. That was it."

The two also opened the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards with the spicy tune, welcoming viewers to the show with some suggestive lyrics. The pair's chemistry was evident even back then when Rocky grabbed the Bad Girl's behind before she playfully pushed him away to perform "We Found Love" with Calvin Harris.

The "Cockiness" collab earned A$AP Rocky his spot as Rihanna's opening act on the "Diamonds Tour." Rihanna returned the professional favor that same year by appearing in Rocky's "Fashion Killa" music video. In the song, he raps, "Her attitude Rihanna / She get it from her mama." This bar paired with the visual of the two flirtatiously shopping around New York City had fans wondering if Rihanna was Rocky's muse for the record, but he shut that down when he told MTV News that he was enjoying the single life: "I don't have one girlfriend at the moment, so I don't have anybody to talk about. So, I'm talking about different, multiple girls because that's what's going on in life." 

But when it came to the music video muse, Rocky said Rihanna was the one. "She's a fashion killa in my eyes," Rocky said on 106 & Park. "I respect her jigginess. I respect her fashion sense so that's why I used her as a female."

Fans revisited the song in 2022 when Rihanna and Rocky announced they were expecting a child, pointing out the rapper may have manifested the pregnancy 10 years earlier when he rapped, "And Versace, got a lot, but she may never wear it / But she save it so our babies will be flyer than their parents."

Rumors of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky being a couple fizzled for a few years when RiRi started dating billionaire Hassan Jameel. Rihanna rarely made public comments on the relationship during its three-year run, and instead let the paparazzi narrate their worldwide travels. The couple quickly became meme-able gold in 2017 when paps caught the two in what appeared to be a heated argument while vacationing in Spain, then making out in a pool moments later. Rihanna seemingly poked fun at the photos on Instagram by posting a picture of two lions that resembled the viral shot, writing, "when u think u know more bout soccer."

Meanwhile, Rocky had his own relationship brewing with model Kendall Jenner. A source told Us Weekly in 2016 that the two were dating after they were spotted leaving Kylie Jenner's 19th birthday party together, but seemingly confirmed it themselves by showing major PDA at the 2017 Met Gala. However, the two reportedly split later that year due to their busy schedules.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have always been in each other's lives regardless of their relationship status. In 2018, an insider told MTO News that RiRi and Hassan Jameel were on a break, allegedly because "she gets tired of men sometimes." During the reported split, Rihanna and Rocky attended the 2018 Louis Vuitton runway show together. The pair sat in the crowd with the likes of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian to support LV menswear artistic director Virgil Abloh, who co-directed the "Fashion Killa" video.

Back at New York Fashion Week, Rocky attended RiRi's annual Diamond Ball in both 2018 and 2019. At his second appearance, Rocky reportedly had the time of his life surrounded by friends on the dancefloor when Pharell Williams performed Gwen Stefani's hit "Hollaback Girl." The two also rocked looks from Rihanna's Fenty line while walking the British Fashion Awards red carpet together in 2019. While this was enough to get relationship rumors swirling, Rihanna wouldn't announce her split from Jameel until early 2020.

A$AP Rocky helped Rihanna break skincare stereotypes by posing alongside the beauty revolutionizer in the introductory Fenty Skin campaign. Lil Nas X also appears in the brand's promotional video to "the new culture of beauty."

The pair showcased their dynamic in two Q&A style interviews with Vogue and GQ to promote the line. When Rocky gets to ask the questions, RiRi gives a detailed response about her skin type and the trouble areas she works with. When she asks Rocky about his skin type, he sums it up in one word: "Handsome," he said, making Rihanna roll her eyes. The pair weren't an official couple when the video was filmed, but the chemistry between the two of them was impossible to ignore.

RiRi also playfully revealed that the hardest part about working with her future beau on the campaign was him being a bit of a diva on picking the usable photos. "I can't pick which one of my pores are smaller in each image," Rihanna mocked Rocky to his delight. "I'm just playing, but yeah, it's not hard working with you," she said, smiling.

Rihanna and Saudi Arabian businessman Hassan Jameel broke off their three-year relationship in January 2020. Although the singer's rep had no comment on the split, a source told People, "Their lives were too different and it was hard to maintain a relationship." That was the only explanation the public ever received on the split, and it was seemingly never brought up again.

Maybe Rihanna saw the signs that the relationship was failing in 2019 when she was asked by her "Ocean's Eight" co-star, Sarah Paulson, in an Interview profile about getting married. She reportedly paused before giving her answer. "Only God knows that, girl," Rihanna said. "We plan and God laughs, right?" "Do you want to be a mother," Paulson asked. "More than anything in life," the singer replied. 

After the breakup, Rihanna was spotted reuniting with former boyfriend Drake and, of course, her good friend, A$AP Rocky.

After years of professional collaborations, photographed dinners, and rumored romances, it was reported that Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were finally an item in late 2020. An unnamed source told Us Weekly that the two formed a close bond over years of friendship and their shared connection to Barbados. Many people know that Rihanna hails from the Caribbean Island, but Rocky's dad was also born a Barbadian before his family emigrated to the United States.

The pair jetted off to the motherland for their first Christmas as a couple. TMZ caught the stars sealing their love with a kiss in between jet ski and inner tube rides. Rocky later talked about the trip with GQ in 2021. "It was like a homecoming thing. ... I always imagined what it would be like for my dad, before he came to America. And I got to visit those places, and believe it or not, there was something nostalgic about it. It was foreign but familiar." 

But this trip was significant for another reason.

Rihanna's always been proud of being from Barbados, and her homeland has shown that the love is reciprocated: the singer was officially declared a national hero and ambassador for the island country in 2021.

So when she finally got to visit Barbados after months of COVID-19 travel restrictions in December 2020, as previously mentioned, it was a big step to take A$AP Rocky with her for the first time. "It was us who were going home," she told Vogue in 2022, stressing the importance of them taking the trip together as a couple. Luckily, Rihanna's family were won over quickly by Rocky — even her mother, who reportedly could be tough on other boyfriends. "My mother has a really good read on people. She observes first and then she'll move slowly," the singer commented, adding that she had that in common with her mom. "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 also opened up about the special significance Barbados holds for Rocky and his family. "To see him in a space where he's imagining his dad as a boy, walking the same streets as his dad walked, eating the same food as his dad ate, it was really heartwarming," she commented. Rihanna also revealed that if they were going to move anywhere permanently, her dream home would be in Barbados.

A$AP Rocky gave fans a rare glimpse into his relationship with Rihanna in his 2021 GQ interview. Rocky revealed that "his lady" is "the One," and reportedly grinned ear to ear while talking about the "Kiss It Better" songstress. The rapper shared details of the cross-county road trip in which he and RiRi traveled in a tour bus, listening to classic rock, stopping at national parks, and tripping on acid. "Being able to drive and do a tour without feeling like it was an occupation or an obligated job agreement, I feel like that experience is like none other," he said.

Life on the road also gave Rocky some time to work on new music, which he said Rihanna undoubtedly influenced, explaining, "I think it's important to have somebody that you can bounce those creative juices and ideas off of."

When asked if he was ready to be a father, Rocky used the same lingo he used to describe his future child in "Fashion Killa": fly. "I think I'd be an incredible, remarkably, overall amazing dad," Rocky told GQ. "I would have a very fly child. Very."

Making iconic moves comes naturally when you're Rihanna and A$AP Rocky. The two unknowingly created magic when they showed up to the 2021 Met Gala. "We weren't even sure if we were going to go, so separately, we were planning our looks just to be prepared," Rihanna later told E! News at her Savage X Fenty fashion show. "We ended up getting ready together and going, and I didn't even realize we were on the carpet together until somebody said, 'You're making your debut,' and I was like, 'Oh, s***.'"

Even if they had realized the history-making moment they created, Rocky in a bright multi-colored quilt and Rihanna rocking 267 Bulgari diamonds would have never gone unnoticed. What's even more impressive than their outfit choices was the couple's arrival time. The two-hour carpet event was nearly wrapping up when the power couple graced photographers with their presence, sticking by the age-old adage of saving the best for last.  

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky nearly broke the internet on January 31, 2022, when they announced that they were expecting their first child together. Fashion photographer Diggzy snapped shots of the couple walking through Rocky's hometown of Harlem with a pregnant Rihanna wearing an unbuttoned pink coat to show off her bump. The photos, also published by Shutterstock and People, feature solo shots of the "You Da One" singer and a sweet moment of Rocky kissing RiRi's forehead.

Rihanna shared a more candid picture of her growing belly a day later on her Instagram account, writing, "how the gang pulled up to black history month." Fans and celebrities went bananas over the announcement on social media, with industry giants and fellow mothers Nicki Minaj and Cardi B sending their congratulations. However, Drake reportedly unfollowed both Rihanna and Rocky soon after the couple broke the news. There's always one bitter ex, huh? 

At the time, fans were already speculating that this could be the first of many kids for the couple, as Rihanna told British Vogue in 2020, "I'll have kids — three or four of 'em."

The superstar couple faced a bump in the road in April 2022 when A$AP Rocky was accused of cheating on Rihanna with fashion designer and shoemaker Amina Muaddi, who had previously worked with the "Diamonds" singer on a Fenty line of footwear. According to People, the rumor started with a Twitter user who alleged that the pair had separated during Rihanna's pregnancy over Rocky's supposed infidelity.

The couple didn't comment on any of the speculation at the time, but the Fenty collaborator who was caught up in the gossip denied the whole story. "I've always believed that an unfounded lie spread on social media doesn't deserve any response or clarification, especially one that is so vile," Muaddi wrote in a statement on Twitter, insisting that she thought "this fake gossip — fabricated with such malicious intent" would die out quickly without any evidence.

Since the rumor persisted, however, Muaddi felt she had to respond. "I have to speak up as this is not only directed towards me but it is related to people I have a great amount of respect and affection for," she wrote, adding that it was particularly awful to target Rihanna while she was preparing to give birth. "While Rih is continuing to live her serene, best dressed pregnancy life and I go back to my business — I wish everyone a beautiful Easter weekend!"

Only a month before his first child was born in May 2022, A$AP Rocky was arrested by the LAPD over a shooting in Los Angeles that had taken place in November 2021.

The rapper had just flown back from a Barbados vacation with Rihanna when he was swarmed by cops at Los Angeles International Airport, as NBC News reported. After they took him off their private plane, Rocky was held for a few hours before he paid his bail of $550,000 and was able to walk free. Cops also used a warrant to search his house for evidence. According to the LAPD's Twitter, they arrested him over the testimony of the shooting victim, who alleged that Rocky had fired his handgun at him a few times on the street. The district attorney's office later officially filed charges against him in August 2022, stating that they "conducted a thorough review of the evidence in this case."

"Rihanna is always supportive of him no matter what," a source previously told Us Weekly, insisting that their relationship wasn't shaken by the arrest. "They will get through his legal battle and will just come out stronger." And Rihanna proved that she was going to support him by appearing backstage while he performed at the Smokers Club Festival in West Hollywood just over a week later.

In May 2022, A$AP Rocky released a new song called "D.M.B." — aka "DAT$ MAH B!*$H." On Twitter, the rapper gave a special shout out to Rihanna for motivating him to write the track, and the lyrics seem to reference her throughout: "My angel and my Goddess, when my head get clouded," he raps on the bridge, bragging about how they share clothes and party together. Rocky also alludes to the singer's billionaire status and the business empire she started with Fenty: "She got bank accounts too / With big amounts, s**t you couldn't count." He even takes a possible shot at her allegedly abusive relationship with ex Chris Brown by insisting: "I don't beat my b***h, I need my b***h."

The music video sparked a lot of excited speculation, as well, since it shows Rocky and Rihanna tying the knot. In the video, Rocky acts out an unconventional proposal, spelling out "MARRY ME?" with a gold grill on his teeth. Rihanna is shown wearing red instead of the traditional white at the alter before the pair get married onscreen. There was no news of any real engagement or marriage at the time, however, so fans might have to wait a while to see the superstar couple actually walk down the aisle together.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

TMZ broke the news that Rihanna had given birth to her first child on May 13, 2022. Sources confirmed that the singer was in Los Angeles when she went into labor and had a baby boy. She and A$AP Rocky refused to share their son's name with the public for the sake of his privacy, but they were glad to confirm that he was a healthy growing baby. "He is funny, he's happy — and he's fat!" Rihanna told People that November, while preparing for her first major public appearance since childbirth at a Fenty fashion show. "He's amazing. It's a real cuddly stage right now."

Although they mostly kept him out of the spotlight during his first year, Rihanna uploaded a TikTok in December 2022 with a caption that jokingly claimed her account had been hacked. The adorable video showed her infant son smiling, yawning, and trying to grab her phone while strapped into a car seat. Her fans were quick to point out how similar Rihanna and her baby looked and how he was already trying to hit some high notes from the back seat of the car. "Fenty genes strong as hell," one commenter pointed out.

A$AP Rocky opened up about becoming a father in a December 2022 interview with Complex, announcing that having a child with Rihanna had completely changed his priorities. "Everything is just based around my newfound love for being a dad and a family man," he stated, insisting that he couldn't express his joy in words and that he was unable to stop smiling whenever he thought about his baby boy. The rapper added that fatherhood was also fueling his creativity and motivating him to expand his musical imagination. "I'm in a place where I want to give my all to all of this. All I have is my craft, my art, my family," Rocky continued, reflecting on his new life.

In early 2023, the rapper told Zane Lowe on his Apple Music podcast that nearly a year of raising his son had given him a completely different outlook on everything. "It's something that's so unexplainable to people who don't have their membership yet," he insisted, joking about being a member of the official dad club. "... It makes you want to rush to get home. ... You come home to heaven every day." Rocky also admitted that he tends to be the fun parent and spends a lot of time playing around with his son rather than enforcing any rules. "He sees me as playtime, I'm not even no dad yet," he quipped.

At the 2023 Super Bowl, Rihanna didn't just perform a 13-minute medley of her past hits on an elevated platform above the State Farm Stadium: the singer also made history by becoming the first pregnant woman to ever lead the iconic halftime show. After a lot of speculation online, a representative confirmed to People that she was in fact revealing her baby bump by placing a hand on her stomach and wearing an unzipped bright red jumpsuit. The star had previously hinted that a secret guest performer could be joining her on stage, telling "CBS Mornings": "I'm thinking about bringing someone." But nobody could have guessed that she would be joined by her second baby, rather than any of her past collaborators like Drake or Jay-Z.

As she told British Vogue, even Rihanna was daunted by the idea of performing live to millions after largely staying away from the stage for seven years and having a child. "What the heck am I thinking?" she reflected. "But you're geeked on a challenge like that because you know what your body just did. You feel this sense of 'Nothing is impossible.'" And that was before she even knew that she was also pregnant again. 

A source told Us Weekly that she and A$AP Rocky had been trying for a second kid but were apparently still caught off-guard by how quickly Rihanna conceived. And of course, she received moral support from Rocky, who proudly cheered her on from the crowd throughout her performance.