Rihanna and Chris Brown have reconciled their relationship and remain close friends, according to the FENTY CEO. In a repurposed 2012 interview, Riri sat down with Oprah on her Supersoul Conversations Podcast. During the conversation, she opened up about her relationship status with both Brown and her dad.
On Grammy night of 2009, CB admitted to physically assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna prior to the award show. Although the two reconciled years later, the Barbadian mogul details the steps it took to repair their friendship.
“We’ve built up a trust again,” she tells Oprah. “We love each other and we probably always will. And that’s not something we’re ever going to change. That’s not something you can shut off, if you’ve ever been in love. I think he was the love of my life. He was the first love. And I see that he loved me the same way.”
There’s no telling whether or not the two would re-ignite the old flame, but when asked she directed the focus to an essential aspect in their relationship.
“It’s not even about us being together. I truly love him. So the main thing for me is that he’s at peace. I’m not at peace if he’s a little unhappy, or he’s still lonely.”
Rihanna also reveals that reconciling with her father served as a catalyst for forgiveness. While growing up with her parents in Barbados, she witnessed domestic violence within their relationship.
“I repaired my relationship with my dad,” says the 9-time Grammy winner. “I was so angry with him, and I was just angry about a lot of things from my childhood and I couldn’t separate him as a husband from him as a father.”
As she repaired her parental relationship, her feelings towards Chris Brown began to move in a different direction.
“I thought I hated Chris and I realized it was love was tarnished. It looked like hate because it was ugly, angry, it was inflamed, it was tainted. And I realized that what it was is I had to forgive him because I cared about him still. And the minute I let go of that, I started living again.”
Listen to the entire conversation on Spotify below.