After her electrifying Super Bowl halftime performance, Rihanna shows off her growing family in a stunning photoshoot. In the March issue of British Vogue, you can see a sneak peek of her adorable nine-month-old son, as well as her journey to performing for Super Bowl LVII, which includes finding out she’s pregnant again! Everything inside…
From sleepless nights to performing during Apple’s Super Bowl halftime show and new motherhood, Rihanna’s British VOGUE cover reveals that she only recently discovered that she was expecting her second child.
Rihanna just dropped a bombshell about her recent British VOGUE cover shoot, which also stars her boo A$AP Rocky and their son. The international music icon, who stunned in a sexy black Chanel dress with a high slit on the cover, admitted on social media that, at the time of the photo shoot in December 2022, she had NO IDEA she was expecting her second child.
Sharing photos from the British VOGUE March 2023 photoshoot, Mama RiRi wrote, “my son so fine! Idc idc idc! How crazy both of my babies were in these photos and mommy had no clue.”
Ha! We wonder if she decided to change up her Super Bowl performance after finding out she was pregnant again.
In the IG post, the new mom also gave a shout-out to British Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful for recognizing and celebrating their bond.
The news of Rihanna’s pregnancy surprise comes as her backup dancers have revealed they were unaware of it until the singer’s scheduled performance on Sunday. Laila Hayes, a dancer, told Entertainment Tonight, “I don’t think anybody really knew she was pregnant. She hid it very well.”
The new mom is eager to share her roller-coaster first months of motherhood. She gushes about how it’s everything and how it’s impossible to remember life before. Although she has photos from her life before motherhood, she can’t identify with that feeling or those desires because mentally, she doesn’t allow herself to go that far. Why? Because it just doesn’t matter anymore.
She takes a moment to collect her thoughts and agrees to take us back to the beginning. Her birth experience was beautiful, and she feels blessed for that. But make no mistake, the “head-f**k “was real. Those first few days were insane, she exclaims, as she vividly describes the sleepless nights that came with the new baby.
“I cannot believe it,” she says, still floored by the experience. “Essentially, from one person I became two. You walk into the hospital as a couple and leave as a family of three. It’s nuts. And oh, my gosh, those first days are insane. You don’t sleep. At all. Not even if you wanted to. We came home, cold turkey, had no one. It was just us as parents and our baby. Man, you’re a zombie for the most part.”
The lack of sleep turned them into zombies, but they were determined to power through together.
“You’re just going through the motions,” she continues, “and even then you’re so paranoid. Because you’re like: they trusted us to come home with this baby? This new life? With us?” She starts laughing. “No doctors, no nurses, we’re just… going home?”
As new parents, Rihanna and Rocky spent their post-birth weeks in California before Rocky had to fly out to Europe on tour. Eventually, Rihanna and their son joined him, and throughout the summer, the family’s geography changed a lot.
The couple has yet to reveal their son’s name publicly. The VOGUE reporter said everyone referred to the child as “baby,” which made her wonder if his name is actually Baby.
The nine-time Grammy winner explains that being a parent is a constant state of being of service. Every moment revolves around their little one, and even getting the time to shower brings immense joy. She laughs as she remembers rolling his bassinet into the bathroom just to catch a glimpse of him while showering. But she especially loved the mornings, with her favorite moments being seeing his little wake-up face, watching his face change, and seeing his color come in as he woke up.
Aww!!
On Malibu Beach, the ANTI singer, her partner A$AP, 34, and their son took photos for British Vogue. Rihanna described her friendship with rapper A$AP as being like “best friends with a baby” and claimed that having children has made them “closer.”
“We have to be on the same page, but we’ve always kind of had that in our relationship. Everything changes when you have a baby but I wouldn’t say it’s done anything but made us closer,” she says.
She can’t help but admire the bond between her partner and their child. “I’m just sitting on the sidelines when they’re together,” she says, both touched and amused by their connection.
“I’m literally the girl trying to get into the boys club, waiting for my turn. He is obsessed with his father. And I’m like: ‘Didn’t I give birth to you? What is going on?’” She laughs. “Their connection is undeniable. The second Rocky makes eye contact with him he is on fire. The whole thing they say about sons and moms, it’s a myth. Sons and fathers is crazy. I realized that the validation that you really need as a boy is from your father.”
These days, the “Work” singer is always in Mama Bear mode, especially when it comes to the paparazzi. She shared a disturbing experience when paparazzi took pictures of her son without her permission.
“It’s the thing you never want to happen,” she says, recalling the moment. “We get to decide as parents when and how we do that. End of story.”
She continues, “Throw me to the wolves. Do what you want with me. But he doesn’t have a say in any of this. We’ve been protecting him thus far and you don’t have any consent to be posting photos or selling photos of my child, a minor. Get the hell out of here with that.”
Hmph.
Rihanna is also growing as a leader. “Having a kid honestly unlocks another side of life where you’re now in the matrix with the people who’ve already had kids,” she explains. Her team is largely comprised of women, many of whom are mothers.
Known for her workaholic tendencies, she would work all night on product development, marketing, and brainstorming sessions. However, now she sympathizes with the challenges of working parents and their double life.
“‘Were you doing this all along? Are you serious? When I had you guys in meetings all the way until 6am you didn’t say how nuts that was?’ You come to have a different respect for moms and dads.” (Ironically, she makes this observation at 5 am.)
The couple has fully embraced the mini-me fashion trend and Rih loves dressing her son up in clothes that don’t look like baby clothes.
“One of my favorite outfits he has is a miniature version of one of Rocky’s,” she shares. “I like to dress him in things that don’t look like baby clothes. I like to push it. I put him in floral stuff. I put him in hot pink. I love that. I think that fluidity in fashion is best. I always shop in the men’s department, you know.”
As fans hound her about music, Rihanna has been continuously recording music over the past few years, although she admits that her taste and vibe have changed over time, causing her to fall in and out of love with some of her unreleased songs. When asked about the possibility of a new album this year, she expresses her desire for it to happen.
“I want it to be this year,” she says, at this stage very much unaware she is pregnant again. “Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos.” She misses the visuals almost more than music. “And I need the right background music with the visuals. I can’t just go shoot a video to me talking,” she says, laughing once again.
As the interview comes to a close, Rihanna appears happy and relaxed. When asked if she wants more children, she hesitates for a moment before revealing that she is already pregnant again, which will soon be announced to the world in a grand fashion. When reminded of her past comment about wanting three or four children, she laughs and admits that she needs to be more careful with what she says.
“Listen, I’m down for whatever. My wish would be I would like to have more kids but whatever God wants for me, I’m here.” I guess now Rocky’s got his son, you can have whatever you like next? “I’m open,” she says. “Girl, boy. Whatever.” And with that, she beams once more.
By the way, Rihanna will celebrate her 35th birthday in a few days. February 20th is right around the corner. Happy Early Birthday, Rih!
Photo: AP Photo/Mike Stewart
