Rihanna Says She Still Loves Chris Brown, Singer Says They’re Friends Again
Rihanna has recently revealed that she still loves her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown and that the former-pair are friends again. Back in 2009 on Grammy night, Brown admitted to physically assaulting Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time.
The “No Guidance” singer was sentenced to five years probation, 180 days of community service, and ordered to stay 50 yards away from the “Diamonds” singer. Now, Rihanna has told Oprah Winfrey during her Supersoul Coversations podcast: “We’ve been working on our friendship again. Now we’re very very close friends. We’ve built up a trust again, and that’s – 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… 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.”

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 22: Attorney Donald Etra (L) and singer Rihanna appear at a preliminary hearing at Superior Court of Los Angeles County on June 23, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The preliminary hearing is to determine if Chris Brown will stand trial for allegedly attacking pop singer Rihanna, during an argument in a rented Lamborghini sports car following a pre-Grammy Awards party on February 8, 2009. He is currently free on $50,000 bail. (Photo by Lori Shepler-Pool/Getty Images) (Photo by Pool/Getty Images)
Rihanna was asked if she and Brown rekindled their romance, and Rihanna said, “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. We’ve just worked on it, little by little, and it has not been easy. It’s not easy.”
The “Umbrella” singer also revealed to Winfrey that it was repairing her relationship with her father, who was abusive to her mother, that led the singer to forgive Brown.
“I repaired my relationship with my dad. 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,” Rihanna said.

NEW YORK – DECEMBER 12: Singers Rihanna and Chris Brown perform on stage during Z100’s Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden on December 12, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)
“I thought I hated Chris and I realized it was love [that] 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.”