Rapper A$AP Rocky (born Rakim Athelston Mayers) recently shared some rare details about his relationship with pop icon Rihanna. He shared a slightly awkward and embarrassing story about how the iconic couple first met.
During his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 19, Rocky recalled their chance encounter outside a New York City nightclub, where Rihanna walked in on him as he argued with a bouncer.
“It was wild,” Rocky said. “We met outside a club in New York. I wasn’t famous yet—she was already Rihanna. I couldn’t get in, and I was with my friend, the late great Virgil Abloh, and Matthew Williams.” Rihanna is a billionaire with a net worth of over $1.4 billion.
As tensions rose with the security staff, Rihanna stepped outside. “We locked eyes immediately,” Rocky continued. “I was kind of in a daze—honestly embarrassed she saw me arguing with the guard.”
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When host Jimmy Fallon asked if Rihanna helped him get into the club, Rocky laughed and admitted she did not. Speculation about their relationship began in 2012–13 after their flirty performance at the 2012 MTV VMAs.
Their chemistry was undeniable. Rocky later joined Rihanna on her Diamonds World Tour in 2013, and that same year, Rihanna starred as his love interest in the “Fashion Killa” music video, which garnered over 115 million views on YouTube.
According to Billboard, the steaming chemistry between the two continued as they officially became friends after Rocky publicly denied any romantic involvement in 2015.
It was only in 2020 that things seemed serious after a road trip changed the course of their feelings. Rihanna split up with Hassan Jameel, and by the end of 2020, the R&R duo were spending Christmas in Barbados. A$AP Rocky confirmed their relationship in a GQ interview, calling Rihanna “the love of my life.”
WE LOVE TO SEE IT 🎥| ASAP Rocky talks parenting with Rihanna and wanting their kids to still be kids and experience regular things despite having celebrity parents:
“They’re humans, they’re human beings.” pic.twitter.com/oC3ZFKGNfV
— KenBarbie™ (@itsKenBarbie) August 22, 2024
The couple welcomed their first son, RZA, in 2022. Rocky later released the music video for “DMB,” which symbolically featured a proposal and wedding scene with the “Umbrella” singer, even though they have not officially tied the knot.
Rihanna announced her second pregnancy during her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, and their second son, Riot Rose, was born in August 2023.
Later, Rihanna revealed she was pregnant again at the 2025 Met Gala, and their daughter, Rocki Irish Mayers, was born in September, completing their family of five.
Some fans went gaga over the couple’s sizzling chemistry and mutual admiration for each other, while others joked that almost every year after Rihanna began dating Rocky, she has announced a pregnancy streak.
According to HELLO! Magazine, speaking on The New York Times Popcast, the Grammy nominee opened up about his children’s distinct personalities. “My oldest, RZA, is the opposite of his brother,” he shared. “They’re close in age, about 14 months apart, but RZA is more antisocial.”
Meanwhile, baby Riot is reportedly “a full-on social butterfly” who loves cotton candy and wants all the attention on him, according to his father. Furthermore, the arrival of their third child, Rocki, has further transformed their family dynamic.
“RZA really like antisocial. Riot wants to steal the room when he comes. Rocki looks like exactly identical to me, she’s my twin.”
Rocky about his kids 🤍 pic.twitter.com/IU0jluxV98
— 𝖌𝖆𝖇 (@gabgonebad) January 16, 2026
“She’s four months now, and she looks exactly like me — my twin,” the rapper said. Rihanna has also claimed in several interviews that her partner is a “devoted father” and called him a “great dad.”
On the work front, ASAP Rocky released “Don’t Be Dumb” on January 16, 2026, which happens to be his first album in eight years, after stepping back from music to embrace the role of fatherhood.
