Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have welcomed their first child, reportedly a baby boy. Getty Images
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have welcomed their first child, reportedly a baby boy. Getty Images
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have welcomed their first child, reportedly a baby boy. Getty Images
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have welcomed their first child, reportedly a baby boy. Getty Images

Rihanna welcomes baby with A$AP Rocky after high-fashion, self-affirming pregnancy


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Singer Rihanna and rapper A$AP Rocky have reportedly welcomed their first child, following a pregnancy the singer flaunted in a radical revamp of normally covered-up maternity style.

The entertainment and fashion mogul behind hits Diamonds and Umbrella gave birth to a boy on May 13 in Los Angeles, according to TMZ, which first reported the news.

People Magazine confirmed the celebrity birth, citing a source close to the couple who said they are at home with the baby and that "Rihanna is doing well. They are very excited to be parents."

Representatives for the couple did not immediately respond to an AFP request for confirmation.

No other details, including the child's name, have been made public.

The Barbadian-born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, 34, in recent years has become a billionaire, parlaying her music achievements into successful makeup, lingerie and high-fashion brands.

Rumours that she and A$AP Rocky, 33, were dating swirled for years before the pair confirmed last year that their romance was official.

The pair announced they were expecting in January with a set of glamorous snow-dusted images taken in Harlem, the mother-to-be sporting a long pink jacket buttoned only at the top, paired with a long bejewelled necklace over her bare belly.

Since then, Rihanna has triggered a paparazzi frenzy and left the fashion industry in awe, appearing in barely-there maternity looks that showcased her growing baby bump, no holds barred.

See highlights from Rihanna's pregnancy wardrobe here:

Weeks after announcing her pregnancy, the pop icon dazzled the fashion week circuit in look after look, notably arriving in Paris in a completely see-through Dior lace cocktail dress, under which she donned lingerie from her own Savage X Fenty line.

Paired with spiky heeled knee-high boots, a leather trench coat, and silver necklaces, the star walked with such grace and confidence she appeared to float. During her pregnancy, Rihanna didn't just bare her belly, she boasted of it, adorning herself in jewels, sequinned bras, and low-slung miniskirts.

"She's changed something profound in fashion — single-handedly rewriting the rules of pregnancy dressing with one jaw-dropping style manoeuvre after another," wrote Vogue, which featured Rihanna on its May cover.

"I'm hoping that we were able to redefine what's considered 'decent' for pregnant women," the performer told the magazine.

"My body is doing incredible things right now, and I'm not going to be ashamed of that. This time should feel celebratory."

She's far from the first celebrity to show off her pregnant belly: Demi Moore posed nude while expecting on Vanity Fair's cover in 1991, a stunning move for the time.

Since then, Britney Spears, Cindy Crawford and Serena Williams have all sat for similar glossy pregnancy portraits. Beyonce, meanwhile, announced her twins with a highly polished, belly-baring Instagram post chock full of art-world references, including Botticelli's Venus.

But Rihanna's scantily clad looks have been far less calculated and far more frequent, a statement on maternity that goes beyond the magazine cover to be an everyday celebration of self.

"Right now I'm really into pushing the idea of sexy," she told the lifestyle website Refinery29 in February. "When women get pregnant, society tends to make it feel like you hide, hide your sexy."

"I don't believe in that," she continued. "So I'm trying stuff that I might not have even had the confidence to try before I was pregnant."

"The strappiest, the thinnest, and the more cut-outs — the better for me."

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others

Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.

As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.

Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.

“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”

Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.

“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”

Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

3,000

The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

Updated: October 14, 2022, 7:05 AM`