It has been a few days since we witnessed Rihanna’s return to the stage, no less than during the Halftime Show of the Super Bowl, one of the most watched events around the world. Her fans were hoping for news of a new album, but the announcement was even bigger: RiRi is pregnant again. And her husband, A$AP Rocky, is very proud of her.
In an interview with Vogue, before her historic performance, Rihanna talked about her new stage of motherhood and how her life has changed since the birth of her first child. We also saw official photographs of the couple with the baby for the first time.
RiRi spoke about the birth of the baby (whose name is still unknown to the rest of the world), which she described as a beautiful moment, but also brought new challenges, such as fatigue and postpartum turbulence. “I cannot believe it,” she told Vogue. “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, and had no one. It was just us as parents and our baby. Man, you’re a zombie for the most part.”
At the time of the photo shoot and interview with Vogue, the world was still unaware that Rihanna was expecting her second child. Probably not even she, who describes herself as very calm and relaxed in the midst of postpartum.
Rihanna’s Return to the Stage
The singer recounted how she ended up making history at one of the world’s biggest sporting events. In 2018, she was invited but rejected the offer in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback. Rihanna acknowledged that there are many things about the NFL that she disagrees with, but changed her mind about the 2023 Super Bowl. Part of that change of heart was due to the importance of representation.
“There’s still a lot of mending to be done in my eyes,” she said. “But it’s powerful to break those doors, and have representation at such a high, high level and a consistent level.”
Last year, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J Blige, and Kendrick Lamar took the stage at the Super Bowl. For Rihanna, it was important to continue that: “Two Super Bowls back-to-back,” she said. “You know, representing the urban community, globally. It is powerful. It sends a really strong message.”
