Rihanna sit down with Oprah during ‘Next Chapter’ was refreshing. She was honest, she allowed herself to be vulnerable and she made a real connection. Here are some of the highlights of that interview.
Rihanna reveals she felt stifled at the beginning of her career because she didn’t know who she was 16 and 17. She says the marketing team at her label created a brand and she had to break out of that.
On what her late Gran Gran Dolly taught her, “To find a man who will love you more than you love him, because a woman will always give more….if they love you more they’ll meet you half way.”
She begins to tear up and says jokingly, “Trust Oprah to make you cry.” then erupts in her signature laugh (what a cute moment that was)
On being called the sexiness woman alive by Esquire magazine.
She says, “I don’t even think about that.” She then added sarcastically, “Like I have a real accomplishment here. I don’t even understand that.”
On her fans, the Rihanna Navy, helping her get through difficult times. She says, “It’s amazing how lonely you can feel and nobody understands how you feel. There’s always somebody who reaches out and is going through the same thing…I want them to feel comfortable with knowing that I have flaws as well.”
On being a role model, “It’s become a title of perfection. Something no one can achieve. I can’t say I’ll get it right all the time.”
When Oprah asks her, ‘who are you?’ she says, “That’s a good question. You never really think about that until someone asks.”
She then reveals some things about herself she wants people to know. “I love to have fun, be spontaneous, I’m intrigued by things that are a little adventurous, I’m black and white when it comes to my business but grey in my personal life. I want people to feel good.”
One thing she considers her weakness,
“I don’t want people to think I’m weak or look at me as a victim.
On being violently attacked by ex-Chris Brown in 2009 she answers honestly, “I was hurt the most. Nobody felt the way I felt. It happened to me in front of the world. It was humiliating, embarrassing. I lost my best friend. Everything switched in one night.”
She elaborates, “I thought the only person they hate right now is him. He made that mistake because he needed help. Everyone looked at him as a monster and nobody thought he needed help…I was more concerned about him.”
On the relationship they have today Rihanna says, “We’ve been working on our friendship again and now we’re very very close friends. We love each other and we probably always will. He’s in a relationship of his own. I’m single, but we have maintained a very close friendship ever since the restraining order has been dropped.”
Did they see each other in St. Tropez recently? A trip they took to the island ironically around the same time. Rihanna says, “Yes we did. We attended a mutual friend’s party.”
She adds, “The main thing is that he’s at peace….It matters [to me] that he finds that peace.”
On how she feels when she sees him,“It’s awkward. It’s awkward because I still love him. My stomach drops and I have to maintain this poker face…He’s currently in a relationship at the moment. And I’m single.”
When asked is Chris Brown her true love shockingly she answers, “Absolutely. He was the love of my life. He was my first love and I see that he loved me the same way. We were very young and very spontaneous. We were falling in love and going at a very rapid pace and we forgot about ourselves as individuals.”
Has she forgiven him. “Yes, I have forgiven him. I was angry, I was resentful and held a grudge. I didn’t like that feeling. It was heavy.”
On what helped to heal her wounded heart, “I repaired my relationship with my dad. I was so angry at him. Angry at him with a lot of things from my childhood. My family broke up because of his addiction.”
She reveals the damaged relationship took its tole on her forming relationships with men. She says, “It was why can’t I let somebody in. Why I can’t love…When I start to get close [to a man] I shut it off.”
But she says she realized her was “an amazing father.” Although he treated her mother bad at times he was a good dad.
It was her damaged relationship with her dad that made her make the connection with her own volatile relationship with Chris. “I made peace with my father and made peace with Chris. That’s where I made the connection between the two.”
On what people will think of her relationship with Chris she says, “I have to move on. I can’t tell people how to feel about it. Because it was a bad thing. But I’ve moved on.”
The interview continues with Rihanna taking the media maven for a ride around Barbados to her old neighborhood, greeting neighbors and old friends on the way.
The two ladies end their trip at the beautiful new house Rihanna surprises her mom with in a very touching moment.
Watch the entire interview below.
Rihanna’s honestly was a breath of fresh air. Love it! What are your thoughts?
