Drake Admits He ‘Loves’ Rihanna In Birthday Shout-Out After JLo Split [Video]

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Drake gave ex-girlfriend Rihanna a sweet shout-out for her 29th birthday following his recent breakup with Jennifer Lopez, admitting that he still “loves” her during a concert in Dublin, Ireland.

Fans attending Drake’s February 20 concert in Dublin were treated to the rapper giving Rihanna a very special birthday shout-out during the most recent stop on his “Boy Meets World Tour,” which concertgoers captured on video.

One video captured by Twitter user @aymangolassi and uploaded to Twitter showed Drake telling the crowd that he still “loves” Rihanna, despite their split last year, before adding that he has a whole lot of “respect” for his ex-girlfriend following his split with Lopez.

“It’s somebody’s birthday today, somebody I have a lot of love for and a lot of respect for,” Drake said, briefly pausing the show to give Rihanna a very special shout-out on her big day. “So, instead of singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ though, we’re just going to do this in Dublin.”

of note from tonight, drake did all his songs with rihanna and shouted her birthday out@TMZ see me fam pic.twitter.com/1o5bXwbFIa

— ? (@aymanausmani) February 21, 2017

“Instead of singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ we’re going to set it off just like this,” Drake told the crowd, before then launching into his and Rihanna’s 2016 collaboration “Work.”

The fan who captured the footage also confirmed that Drake was making no secret of his love for Rihanna throughout the concert, which took place on her 29th birthday, claiming that Drake performed all his collaborations with the superstar as well as “Work.”

Drake’s sweet birthday shout-out comes amid rumors that he might be looking to start dating Rihanna again following his recent breakup with Jennifer. Sources told Life & Style earlier this month that he and Lopez allegedly cooled things off because the rapper still has feelings for Rihanna.

“[Jennifer] and Drake were having a great time and getting serious, but Drake had a change of heart,” a source alleged of Drake and Lopez’s breakup, which came just weeks after he and JLo were first spotted together in December.

The insider added that Drake allegedly “misses” Rihanna and is now ready to win her back, just days before he made his big birthday shout out.

“He’s been in contact with Rihanna and he has his heart set on winning her back,” said the insider. “Drake cares about [Jennifer], but he misses Rihanna.”

Notably, Rihanna made no secret of letting the world know that she wasn’t happy about Drake and Lopez’s apparent romance, unfollowing Jennifer on Instagram after she posted a snap of herself and the rapper embracing before the “Only Girl (In The World)” singer appeared to take several shots at the rapper in cryptic social media message prior to Us Weekly claiming Lopez and Drake’s romance had “died down.”

But while Rihanna and Drake haven’t commented on the rumors they could soon be dating again after Drake and JLo called it quits, fans claimed that the twosome did appear to confirm that they may still be in touch during the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on February 12, just days after Jennifer and Drake’s breakup was confirmed and shortly before Drake’s sweet birthday shout-out.

Drake didn’t attend the awards due to touring commitments in the U.K., though Jennifer did suffer an awkward moment at the hands of the former couple after host James Corden joked about them dating in his opening monologue. Fans claimed that Rihanna and the “Take Care” rapper did appear to be in contact.

Fans were quick to take to Twitter during the show, claiming Rihanna appeared to tell the world that she and Drake were on a FaceTime call after she turned her phone around while in the audience to show the caller the stage, which appeared to reveal the person on the line was Drake.

Drake and Rihanna haven’t commented on the FaceTime speculation, though he did make it clear that Rihanna was very much on his mind before the Grammys by telling fans during a show in the U.K. just hours before the award show began that he wanted Rihanna to win. However, he did not mention Lopez, who was also attending the show in Los Angeles.

“You know, I hope they give Rihanna some awards tonight for that ‘Work’ song,” Drake told the crowd, according to footage obtained by E! News, shortly before fans speculated that the former couple may have been on a FaceTime call.

“That was a big a** song and she deserves it,” Drake added, though Rihanna did not take home any awards during the show. “I hope they don’t do us dirty.”

What do you think of Drake telling fans that he “loves” Rihanna following his breakup with Jennifer Lopez?

[Featured Image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images and Joe Scarnici/Getty Images]