The world was moved by the emotional moment A$AP Rocky dove into Rihanna’s arms following the announcement he was found not guilty of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon.
The 36-year-old rapper, real name Rakim Mayers, who shares two children with girlfriend Rihanna, 36, was accused of firing a gun at a friend in 2021 – he pleaded not guilty, maintained his innocence and previously rejected a plea deal.
Deliberations ended in LA yesterday evening, and as the verdict was read in the courtroom, Mayers launched over the courtroom divider to hug his partner Rihanna.
The pair have been through a lot together, welcoming their second baby in 2023 and enduring the media scrutiny brought on by the trial.
After the verdict was announced, Rihanna posted an Instagram story in celebration, writing: ‘The glory belongs to God and to God alone. Thankful, humbled by His mercy.’
According a statement A$AP’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, gave outside the court house, the rapper didn’t want to drag Rihanna into his legal troubles.
Tacopina said A$AP ‘wanted to shield her from this’ but ‘wild horses couldn’t keep her away’ from his side.
He continued: ‘Rocky did not want her here, I will tell you that, I can’t imagine this has been anything but a life-altering experience for them.’
As the lovebirds celebrate A$AP’s freedom, here’s a look at where their love story began….
How did A$AP Rocky and Rihanna meet?
The pair have been friends since at least 2012 when they worked on the remix of her song Cockiness, but it wasn’t until January 2020 that sources revealed their friendship had turned romantic.
They performed Cockiness during the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, revealing electric chemistry that had people wondering if there was something between them.
Then, in March 2013, A$AP opened for Rihanna in North America on her Diamonds World Tour, before the singer starred in his Fashion Killa music video later that same year.
Things quietened down for a few years before romance rumours began to swirl again in 2018 when the pair wore coordinating black-and-white outfits at the Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring/Summer 2018 show during Paris Fashion Week.
Headlines exploded with news of their possible romance in 2019 as they walked the red carpet together for the British Fashion Awards, with A$AP wearing a Fenty tuxedo designed by RiRi.
From there, A$AP and Rihanna were spotted together on various occasions throughout 2020, with the singer even enlisting the Goldie rapper for promo shots for her Fenty Skin range in August 2020.
When did A$AP Rocky and Rihanna start dating?
Their romance appeared to grow serious at the end of 2020, as the rumoured couple were snapped together on Christmas Eve in Barbados, with insiders claiming that A$AP spent the holiday with Rihanna and her family in her hometown.
However, they finally went public with their romance in November 2020 before A$AP spoke out about their relationship for the first time.
In an interview with GQ, the rapper described Rihanna as ‘the one’ and ‘the love of my life. My lady,’ confirming what we all wanted to know.
He added: ‘It’s so much better when you got the one. She amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones. I think when you know, you know. She’s the one.’
As for whether he saw children in their future, A$AP teased: ‘If that’s in my destiny, absolutely. I think I’d be an incredible, remarkably, overall amazing dad. I would have a very fly child. Very.’
In September 2021, the couple went red carpet official when they rocked up to the Met Gala red carpet together wearing equally cosy duvets.
How many children do Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have?
Since then, it’s been an absolute whirlwind for the power couple with Rihanna giving birth to their first son in May 2022 and their second son in 2023.
After giving birth to their first child, it was a year before the pair confirmed they had named their first son Rza after the Wu-Tang Clan rapper of the same name, one of Rihanna and A$AP’s favourite groups.
In February 2023, Rihanna surprised the world when she revealed she was pregnant with her and A$AP’s second baby while headlining the Super Bowl halftime show.
Less than a year after giving birth to Rza, she was not only adjusting to being pregnant again but having to rehearse for the biggest performance of her career so far.
Their second baby boy was born on August 3, 2023 and TMZ quickly confirmed the couple chose another ‘R’ name. It was later revealed that they had named their youngest Riot Rose, just months after A$AP released a song called Riot featuring Pharrell Williams.
Motherhood has looked beautiful on Rihanna, who opened up on the joys of being a first-time mum in 2023.
Speaking to Vogue in 2023, she said of motherhood: ‘Oh, my God, it’s legendary. It’s everything. You really don’t remember life before, that’s the craziest thing ever. 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…Because it doesn’t matter.’
A$AP Rocky has continued to gush about his partner over the years, telling Billboard in August 2024: ‘I don’t think there’s a more perfect person.’
He said of their relationship and growing family: ‘It’s all understanding and compatibility.’
Just like his parents, you can bet little Rza is one heck of a stylish baby, as proven in the family’s first photo shoot for Vogue.
Sharing an insight into her son’s enviable wardrobe, Rihanna said: ‘You know, I always thought doing kid stuff would be cliche and the obvious thing to do when you have a baby. It’s, like, the obvious next step.
‘But when I went shopping, that’s when I realised like, OK, maybe I need to start making the stuff that I want my kids to wear because it’s hard! I got my own idea.’
In another interview about being a parent, Rihanna revealed A$AP doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty.
The superstar told Interview Mag of her partner’s adjustment to fatherhood: ‘Rocky has never shied away from it. He does the shirt up over the nose with a stinky diaper. He gets through it. It’s kind of funny.’
As for the way her life has changed since having children, Rihanna reveals that her outlook has shifted in a major way.
‘I’m actually afraid of s***. The well-being of your kids, you worry about that constantly,’ she said. ‘Nobody warns you that having kids means you’re going to worry every second of your life.’
A version of this article was first published August 22, 2023.
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