Here’s Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s Complete Relationship Timeline

Rumors that Rihanna was dating rapper Rakim Mayers, a.k.a. A$AP Rocky, were circulating for years thanks to their undeniable chemistry on and off the stage. And as of 2020, what started out as hopeful conjecture finally became a reality. 

In fact, just a few months after People reported in November 2020 that the pair were actually dating, A$AP Rocky referred to RiRi as “the love of my life.” It doesn’t get much more serious than that! Oh, wait, it does: The couple revealed in early 2022 that they were expecting their first child, whom they welcomed in May that year. 

Here’s everything we know about their relationship:

2012

The pair look very…comfortable together during their 2012 MTV Video Music Awards performance.

2013

A$AP Rocky is an opening act during Rihanna’s Diamonds World Tour.

2019

The Fenty mogul and the rapper hit the red carpet at The Fashion Awards in London.

2020

August: In July, Rihanna taps the rapper to star in her Fenty Skin campaign, but their chemistry really comes through during a couple of flirty videos for Vogue and GQ in August.

At one point during the Vogue video titled “Face to Face,” A$AP Rocky asks Rihanna what her skin type is. “My skin type is just as complicated as men are,” she replies. “Y’all always try to say women are complicated? It’s y’all!” When she asks him the same question, he answers simply, “Handsome.”

They keep the flirty vibes going during their GQ video, especially when A$AP Rocky is asked about the “hardest part” of working with Rihanna. “I think the hardest part about working with you is not goofin’ off and laughing the whole time. Like this shit is comedy,” he says. “That’s the hardest part. You know, people be so cool it’s hard not to, not to laugh. That’s all. But it was fun. The hardest part is not having too much fun. You just forget that it’s still work at the end of the day.”

November: Relationship rumors pick up when the performers are seen with a group of friends in New York City. “They have always had amazing chemistry and Rihanna relates to A$AP and it feels natural, easy and fun,” a source tells Entertainment Tonight in November. “She feels very comfortable around him since they’ve known each other for such a long time and also feels a connection to him because his dad is from Barbados.”

By late November, sources tell People the pair are officially dating. 

December: Nearly one month later, they are spotted kissing in Barbados, where they reportedly are spending the holidays with her family. “Spending Christmas together was an obvious step for Rihanna and A$AP,” a source tells E.T. “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. They always have such a good time together and definitely seem in love.”

2021

May: In GQ’s June cover story (published in May), the “Fuckin Problems” rapper confirms his relationship with Rihanna, calling her “the love of my life” and “my lady.”

He also referred to Rihanna as “the One” while discussing why he favors monogamy to being single. “So much better when you got the One,” he says. “[Rihanna] amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones. I think when you know, you know. She’s the One.”

June: While A$AP Rocky confirmed the relationship in May, Rihanna has yet to make an official statement. However, that did not keep her from engaging in more PDA with the rapper in New York City. Click here for photos.

July: By July 11, these two can’t keep their hands off each other while filming a project together in New York City. Once again, click here for photos.

August: Rumors begin to swirl that an engagement could be imminent. “These two are so madly in love, and it’s true there’s a lot of buzz in their circle about an engagement being in the works,” a source tells Us Weekly in a new report. “Going by the hints Rocky’s been dropping, [it] may well happen soon, but there’s no pressure and what matters most to both of them is to keep building on this truly beautiful thing they’ve got going.”

September: Rihanna and A$AP hit the red carpet together at the 2021 Met Gala in a very “opposites attract” moment. Rihanna opts for an all-black ensemble by Balenciaga, while he goes for a multicolored number by Eli Russell Linnetz. 

Later in the month the Fenty mogul reveals that she has no interest in consulting her boyfriend regarding her men’s fashion designs. “Are you kidding me? Do you know who I am? I’m a control freak,” Rihanna told People at the premiere of the Savage x Fenty Vol. 3 show. “Listen, he’s proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish and all of my designs.”

2022

January: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky reveal on January 31 that they’ve reached a new milestone in their relationship: parents-to-be. The couple are photographed in New York City to debut Rihanna’s baby bump, thus confirming that they’re expecting their first child together. 

May: Congrats! The couple reportedly welcome their first child, a baby boy, on May 13. While details about the child’s name are not included in the news, there is little doubt that it is impossibly cool and interesting. This is the child of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, after all. 

2023

January: A$AP Rocky hypes up Rihanna ahead of her Super Bowl halftime show performance in February. “I'm so glad that my lady's back making music again and whatnot, and getting back out there,” the rapper tells Apple Music (via People). “The Super Bowl is huge, and her being the creative she is, she going to bring it, man. I'm excited. I'm more excited than everybody else, honestly.”

February: Following her Super Bowl halftime performance, reps for the singer confirm to The Hollywood Reporter that Rihanna is expecting her second child with A$AP Rocky. RiRi performed a medley of her greatest hits in a bright red jumpsuit over a spandex top, which seemed to show the Fenty founder sporting a baby bump, especially when she caressed her stomach while onstage. 

This post will be updated.