Rihanna Opens Up About Being A First-Time Parent

In the March issue of British Vogue, Rihanna shares a glimpse of her son with A$AP Rocky as well as her life as a mother.

Before the Super Bowl performance and revealing her second pregnancy, Rihanna was interviewed about life for the March issue of British Vogue. In the interview, she spoke about being a first-time mom, protecting her son from the paparazzi, and why she agreed to perform at the Super Bowl after turning it down in 2018.

During the first months as a mom

In the interview, she described the months after giving birth to her son as “legendary.”

“It’s everything. You really don’t remember life before, that’s the craziest thing ever,” she said. “You literally try to remember it – and there are photos of my life before – but the feeling, the desires, the things that you enjoy, everything, you just don’t identify with it because you don’t even allow yourself mentally to get that far because it doesn’t matter.”

She also said that the birth was a blessing and that she was 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,” she said.

The post-birth experience

The “Diamonds” singer also shared what life was like after giving birth and A$AP rocky touring Europe, traveling with him in the early months of the tour.

“It changed a lot,” she said. “But you’re just at the same constant. You’re of service. Literally, that is it. You are joyful when you get the time to shower.”

She added that while she was pregnant, dressing up was “a piece of cake.” It’s the post-birth that was tough.

“The week that I came home from the hospital – that was nothing but sweats and hoodies. But [in] the weeks after that, you don’t know what to put on. Everything is too small or too big.”

Protecting her son from the paparazzi

Moreover, Rihanna spoke about protecting her son from the paparazzi who are out to take snaps of him. She has yet to reveal his full name.

“We get to decide as parents when and how we do that. End of story,” she said of the decision to introduce their son to the public. “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.”

She and A$AP Rocky were also aware that many photographers and magazines have been trying to get a deal to possibly sell the photos of their son. So she sent some photos to a blogger friend and did a TikTok, showing him to the world.

Rihanna shared she’s grateful to have Rocky, too, whom she calls her best friend.

“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.” 

Yes to Super Bowl Performance

Back in 2018, Rihanna turned down to perform at the NFL Super Bowl as she stood by in solace with football player Colin Kaepernick who in 2016 knelt down as a sign of protest against racial injustice. In 2022, it was announced that she accepted the invitation for many reasons.

While there’s “still a lot of mending to do,” Rihanna shared that the back-to-back halftime performance made her rethink performing again. In 2022, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar were among the artists who performed at the halftime show.

“You know, representing the urban community, globally. It is powerful. It sends a really strong message,” she said.

The thought of raising a young black child also made her think about it. “You’re like, ‘What am I leaving my kids to? This is the planet they’re gonna be living on?’”

“All of those things really start to hit differently,” she added.

Read more stories about Rihanna and Hollywood moms:

Rihanna Redefines What’s Considered Decent for Pregnant Women

Rihanna Expecting Her First Baby With A$AP Rocky

Marc Anthony and Nadia Ferreira Are Expecting Their First Child