Rihanna has introduced her son to the world in a stunning new cover photo-shoot for British Vogue magazine.
The chart-topping pop icon and her partner, fellow musician A$AP Rocky, welcomed their first child in May 2022, and the couple have largely kept details about the newborn private in the months since.
However, on Wednesday afternoon, Rihanna was unveiled as British Vogue’s latest cover star, posing for photos alongside the rapper and their son, whose name they have chosen not to disclose.
In her accompanying interview, the Oscar nominee and Fenty Beauty mogul spoke about how her life has changed since becoming a mother, describing the shift as “beautiful” and a “head-f**k”.
“Essentially, from one person I became two,” she said. “You walk into the hospital as a couple and leave as a family of three. It’s nuts.”
Until their British Vogue shoot, Rihanna had shared just a handful of photos of her son, which she posted after paparazzi photographers took his picture without her consent.
“I just went straight into protective mode,” remembers Rihanna. “Like there wasn’t even time for rage. [Rocky and me] drove up to the trailer area and we sat in the car chatting and working out how we move forward. As parents it just feels so icky, like a violation.”
Of her decision to keep information about her son private, she added: “We get to decide as parents when and how we do that. End of story.
“Throw me to the wolves. Do what you want with me. But he doesn’t have a say in any of this.
“We’ve been protecting him thus far and you don’t have any consent to be posting photos or selling photos of my child, a minor. Get the hell out of here with that.”
Over the weekend, it was confirmed that Rihanna is now expecting her second child, revealing the news during her long-awaited performance in the Super Bowl Half-Time show.
Read Rihanna’s interview in full in the March issue of British Vogue, on newsstands and digital download from 21 February.