A Complete Timeline of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky's Relationship

From rumors to true romance.

We'll spare you the obvious "love in a hopeless place" reference, because as long as there's Rihanna, there's hope. The multi-hyphenate superstar isn't quiet about much, with everything from her entrepreneurial pursuits and her oft-delayed upcoming album making headlines, but there is one thing she's managed to keep on the down-low: her love life. Though rumors never stop swirling around her highness Ri, she's always brushed off any mentions of her love life, until she took the narrative into her own hands and let the world know that she and her rapper beau A$AP Rocky were the real deal.

And while it feels like the two are still a new couple, they've actually known each other for over a decade — which might be why it feels like they've been with us forever. Here's everything that you need to know about the dynamic duo, from their first performance together to that showstopping Met Gala appearance, couture beanie and all.

Rihanna ASAP Rocky Met Gala
Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

2011

A$AP and Rihanna release their first collaboration, "Cockiness (Love It)." The track appears on Ri's album, Talk That Talk, and features lyrics like, "I can be your dominatrix / Just submit to my every order / Enter my diamond matrix / Devour my golden flower."

The next year, the two performed the song at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.

2013

The relationship still seems to be strictly professional. She enlists Rocky to be her opening act on the North American leg of her Diamonds World Tour.

Things are quiet between the two for several years and while fans are hoping for some sort of romantic connection, the two keep those rumors at bay thanks to respective relationships. By 2017, Rihanna is linked to billionaire Hassan Jameel and Rocky is dating Kendall Jenner.

2018

The two attend a Louis Vuitton fashion show during Paris Fashion Week and are seated together. A few months later, Rihanna invites Rocky to her annual Diamond Ball, which supports the Clara Lionel Foundation and raises money for education around the world. Rocky also attends the 2019 event.

Rihanna ASAP Rocky Louis Vuitton Fashion Show
Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images

2019

The British Fashion Awards mark the duo's first red carpet together, though it's as friends, not a couple. They both wore Fenty for the occasion.

January 2020

After three years together, Rihanna and Jameel break up. Almost immediately, rumors of a relationship with A$AP start to make headlines.

"They shared a hotel suite during that trip in New York," a source told The Sun. "However, Rihanna is reluctant to put a label on it as it's so soon after Hassan. They're really enjoying each other's company and taking things easy as it's still early days."

Stories don't line up, however, because other sources claim that Ri is single (and loving it).

"Rihanna is single," another source told E! News. "She just got out of a long intense relationship with Hassan. She wants to be single and isn't going to jump into something. She's hanging out with ASAP Rocky, but she is not dating him."

August 2020

Rihanna and Rocky work together again, only this time, it's for Fenty Skin.

The two film a video for GQ, where they talk about skincare and are generally just very cute.

"Men love their skin, and they take care of it, but they feel obligated almost to only use products that are for men because anything beyond that feels too feminine, it's not for them, they're not allowed, they don't have permission," Rihanna says in the clip.

"I had to discover face cleansing and skincare all at the same time when I was a young buck in the shower," Rocky added. "You can't wash your body with the same rag you wash your face with. I was lucky enough to be the type of guy that wants to wash my face."

December 2020

The two are reportedly "inseparable," according to new sources.

"They've been inseparable the past few weeks," the insider told People. "It's a new relationship, but they both seem very into it. They've always seemed to have a great time together. They have a lot in common. ... They both are very much about helping out in the communities where they grew up. A$AP is generous, and so is Rihanna. A$AP is known for being a great guy."

Neither party has officially confirmed the relationship, though it's pretty clear that they're the real deal when he spends the holidays with her family in Barbados. The two even took a romantic cruise on Christmas Eve, People adds.

"They've known each other for so long as friends and in a work setting, which makes it so easy for them to get along, travel together and be involved in each other's lives to the full extent," a source told Entertainment Tonight. "They always have such a good time together and definitely seem in love."

January 2021

Rihanna shares a bikini-clad Instagram photo wearing a pair of shoes that A$AP helped design, the Amina Muaddi x AWGE LSD Gladi Thigh Heel.

April 2021

The couple is spotted out in Los Angeles together.

"Things changed over the summer and they finally hooked up. They've been together ever since," a source told Us Weekly when photos of them wearing matching leather outfits hit the internet.

May 2021

Rocky officially declares his love for Ri in a GQ profile.

In the story, he calls her "my lady" and "the love of my life." He also told the publication that they both embarked on a "Great American Road Trip," which helped them really get to know each other.

"I met myself," he said of the trip. "Being able to drive and do a tour without feeling like it was an occupation or an obligated job agreement, I feel like that experience is like none other. I never experienced nothing like it."

When asked if Rihanna is "The One," Rocky went all-out, saying that she was much, much more: "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."

August 2021

Sources confirm that the two are serious.

"They are crazy about each other," a source close to the couple told People, adding that the two are both in it "for the long term."

"This romance evolved since they were friends first. They already knew and respected each other and it has just grown from there." An additional source added that the two had "[built] a great foundation" for their relationship thanks to their existing friendship.

"They loved to laugh and have a blast together before they even dated," the source noted. "All of that makes for a solid romance now."

September 2021

The two hit the Met Gala red carpet together.

Rihanna ASAP Rocky Met Gala
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

January 2022

In an iconic photo shoot that broke the internet, the couple announced they were expecting their first child together. Clad in a vintage pink Chanel puffer coat (that was partially unbuttoned to reveal her baby bump), Rihanna and A$AP posed hand-in-hand for photographer Miles Diggs, aka Diggzy.

“I really felt a bond between them,” Diggs told British Vogue at the time.

March 2022

The soon-to-be mom and dad held a secret, "rave-themed" baby shower, according to Entertainment Tonight. A source told the outlet that the couple “flew out some family and friends from Barbados" for the "very intimate" event. "Rihanna didn’t want a shower for just the ladies, they’re in this together, it was always going to be a joint celebration," the source added.

May 2022

Baby Fenty and Rocky arrived in May 2022. TMZ initially reported the news with sources confirming that the couple welcomed a baby boy on May 13. An insider later told People that the two artists were immensely enjoying parenthood. "Rihanna is doing well," the source said. "They are very excited to be parents. Rihanna is already a wonderful mom."

A$AP also told Dazed that he wanted their baby to be a "cool child." "I will always remind my children to never lose their imagination, even as adults, no matter what. I actually love to watch cartoons — I've watched like, Teletubbies, Blue's Clues, Yo Gabba Gabba, Peppa Pig and Baby Shark," he told the outlet.

November 2022

In an interview with Vogue, Rihanna opened up about balancing motherhood and her career, including her performance at the 2023 Super Bowl.

“[There’s] not much balance. But everything is stimulating. Everything right now is firing off. I’m excited. It’s getting me super motivated, super energized to do new things, to create, and I’m back in the studio, and now we’re going to be back on stage for the Super Bowl. Which is just crazy that I even agreed to that, but I am, and I’m excited. Of course being a new mum is insane. It is lovely. It is epic, honestly.”

December 2022

Rihanna shared the first video of the couple's adorable son via TikTok. The clip captured the infant sitting in his car seat and smiling at the camera. "Hacked," she cheekily captioned the post.

February 2023

Somehow managing to top her first pregnancy announcement, Rihanna revealed that she and A$AP were expecting their second child during one of the biggest performances of her career: the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show.

After fans speculated that the superstar was pregnant upon noticing that she kept touching her stomach throughout the set (while wearing a jacket unzipped to showcase her growing bump, no less), a rep for Rihanna confirmed the rumors to The Hollywood Reporter shortly after the show.

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