Rihanna Talks Pregnancy, A$AP Rocky & More On The Cover Of 'Vogue'

Ahead of giving birth to her first child, Rihanna is doing something only she can by gracing the cover of Vogue with her growing belly.

Source: Annie Leibovitz / Vogue

Amid all of her appearances throughout Los Angeles–and all over the world–making a new standard for maternity fashion, Rihanna opened up to Vogue’s Chioma Nnadi about pregnancy fashion, what it’s like to carry the bump seen around the world, and how she and A$AP Rocky got here in the first place.

As fans of the singer already know, Rih and her boyfriend were friends for a long time before getting together. In her Vogue cover story, she admits it was difficult for the rapper to get out of the friend zone.

“People don’t get out of the friend zone very easily with me and I certainly took a while to get over how much I know him and how much he knows me, because we also know how much trouble we can land each other in,” she told the mag.

Source: Annie Leibovitz / Vogue

As for how they decided to have a child together…they didn’t. At least, not explicitly. While there wasn’t any planning that went into having her first child, the Fenty founder admits the pair weren’t planning against it.

“I wouldn’t say planning. But certainly not planning against it,” she revealed. “I don’t know when I ovulate or any of that type of s**t. We just had fun. And then it was just there on the test. I didn’t waste any time. I called him inside and showed him. Then I was in the doctor’s office the next morning and our journey began.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Rihanna interview without a question about new music, which the mother-to-be addressed head on.

“I’m looking at my next project completely differently from the way I had wanted to put it out before,” she said. “I think this way suits me better, a lot better. It’s authentic, it’ll be fun for me, and it takes a lot of the pressure off.”

Source: Annie Leibovitz / Vogue

While dropping music clearly hasn’t been on the top of her priority list for a long time, fans don’t have to worry about the billionaire stepping away from any of her beloved ventures once she welcomes her first child.

“Balance is one of my biggest challenges and always has been. And now there’s another human being coming into play, it changes what that means again,” Rih admitted. “Still, I have businesses that aren’t going to run themselves. My mom handled the three of us with not even close to the amount of resources that I have, so I can absolutely do it. What it looks like? I’m not sure.”

Rihanna goes on to admit that she expected herself to be married before having a child, “but who the f*** says it has to be that way? I’m certainly not gonna let that get in the way of me being a mom.”

Source: Annie Leibovitz / Vogue

And just because she and Rocky aren’t married, legally, doesn’t mean they don’t plan on spending their life together.

“He became my family in that time,” she said of the pandemic. “I cooked our food on this little janky grill I bought from Walmart. I still have it, too. It works like nobody’s business. I love the simple things but also the grand adventures. There’s no pretentious my-brand-your-brand bulls**t, it’s just us living. I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side.”

Oh, and if you were hoping to see a star-studded traditional style Rihanna baby shower–think again because Rih told Vogue that that’s absolutely not happening. Instead, she wants a party; a big one, where people “get plastered” and are “crawling out.”

“No brunch, no blush tones. And no animal-shaped nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “I mean it’s lit for a lot of people—I’ve even planned a couple of baby showers like that myself—it’s just not right for me. Personally, I want a party. I want everyone to be plastered and crawling out. And it’s got to be co-ed! Don’t put me on no wicker chair somewhere with gifts at my feet where everyone is staring at me.”

A gender-reveal party is off the table too.

“I asked my doctor: Is something wrong with me for not wanting this? Because people keep asking me. Am I a bad mom? When we’re ready to tell the world, we’ll just tell them.”

You can read Rihanna’s full cover story with Vogue here.