I still remember that sleepy summer day in June 2017 when the photos of Rihanna and Hassan Jameel came out. Most of us didn’t know Hassan’s name at that point and Rihanna’s Navy (her stans) were freaking out everywhere. “Rihanna Has a Man” was legitimately trending on Twitter that day and evening and I remember MSNBC’s Chris Hayes (a member of Rih’s Navy) trying to find out Hassan’s identity. It was all so much fun. In the years since then, Rihanna moved full time to London and she and Hassan had a quiet and very serious relationship. There was some talk of pregnancy and/or marriage. I really believed it was heading in that direction too. Alas, they’re over.
She found love … but it didn’t last. Rihanna and Hassan Jameel, her boyfriend of nearly three years, have split, a source tells Us Weekly exclusively. The singer and the businessman, both 31, were first linked in June 2017. However, a source told Us weeks later that the duo had “been hooking up for a few months.”
The pair kept their relationship mostly private, but Rihanna opened up about the romance in a June 2019 profile with Interview magazine. She admitted at the time that she was “of course” in love with Jameel, but she hesitated to nail down marriage plans. “Only God knows that, girl,” she said. “We plan and God laughs, right?”
TMZ confirmed the split as well, but no one has any details about who did what and why. Do you think this is a case of “Rihanna can’t be tied down, but nice try, Hassan”? Or is it more like “in the end, they didn’t want the same things”? I don’t know. Rihanna has indicated in many interviews over the past year or so that she was deeply in love with Hassan and she was open to getting married, at least that’s how it seemed to me. Also: do you think this is why she didn’t put an album out by the end of 2019? She was too heartbroken and sad-sack about her breakup? Hm.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Different culture i think. Even if you’re an Arab and Moslem, it won’t be easy to marry in to the most conservative tribe like the Saudis.
^ this, absolutely! The cultural and family stuff was probably quite complicated. FYI though, spelling is ‘Muslim’ 🙂
Hassan’s family is a rich conservative Saudi family so for me it was very unlikely that he could marry him unless she gave up his whole life for him. But the positive thing in this story is that she is no longer attracted to toxic guys.
I think it’s spelled “Moslem” in other countries like Great Britain
It’s Moslem in German.
Well how “conservative” was his family when Ri and Hassan were actually living together in London. A truly conservative family would NEVER allow that. I just think they decided to end the relationship for the same reasons other people end relationships. What does being Saudi have to do with it. He was a Saudi when they met, a Saudi for the three years they dated and lived together. The relationship just ran it’s coarse.
Okay, I have lived in the Gulf and I always thought it was a LONG shot that they would get married. His family is a very rich Saudi family and likely extremely conservative. Conservative isn’t necessarily what you think it is though. It is a different way of thinking.
So, a lot of powerful Saudis see themselves as living the religious, conservative way when they are in their home country (close to Mecca); but when they are outside of their country they live a very different lifestyle. So you can be on a plane and they know the moment they fly across the border and literally get changed into other clothes. When you do business there, powerful businessmen will often fly you to Dubai for business dinners so that they can drink and have fun. They go to Paris and go shopping and clubbing, and so on and so forth.
You see lots of Saudi men in the Philippines and Thailand engaging in ALL sorts of activities when they are very conservative at home (at least on the surface).
Additionally, a lot of powerful men are married off at very young ages to traditional wives who live in the compounds with their husbands’ parents. These men often have other homes and houses outside of those family compounds. Many of them have girlfriends (the western girlfriends often don’t even know that their boyfriend is married and has kids – no one will ever tell them, because then you would be shut out and lose your wasta). I know a few sheikhs that have their first traditional wife, and then marry western women as their second and/or third wives – to have fun with. The first serious wife has to be a traditional local though. The second wife often seems to have more freedom too.
I always wondered if Hassan had a traditional wife hidden away in a family compound – it is very unusual for someone like him to be unmarried at 31. I also thought he would never marry her because his billions are tied up in the family business and the family would NEVER allow that marriage. The only way would be if he walked away from the family and family business and that would be really unusual.
Their relationship – where they lived together in a modern western way in London, obviously had sex outside of marriage, etc. etc. is not at all unusual in Saudi culture. The only unusual factor is her fame and power. She was likely seen as his mistress and it was not happening in Saudi (even if it was… it would only stain her honour, not his. Although they would both be breaking the law, he has the wasta to get out of trouble).
Honestly, this seems like the best option for her. Otherwise he would just be a time-burgler – wasting her years when she can have kids (which she has said she wants to do) when he was never going to marry her or if he did she would likely b a second wife.
I can totally see the appeal – he is hot, independently rich, probably well-educated, charming for sure, and he would never ever talk about their relationship to the press. But, there are a lot of complicated issues there in regards to the long-term.
Ugh, wasn’t able to edit!
Okay, what I wanted to change is that I had actually forgotten that he was divorced and that his family is not as strictly conservative as some others – but they still operate in a conservative system in an ultra-conservative country.
Remembering that the rich and powerful of Saudi often have two sides to themselves – one outside of Saudi and a much more conservative side when in Saudi.
Hassan is divorced and is first wife seems pretty strong and not-so traditional, which is unusual – so maybe his family is more relaxed than most Saudi families of that status. Which is interesting! And actually a nice step in a good direction.
However, it would still be extremely unusual for his family to allow him to marry someone like Rih. Not because they dislike her – they probably love her, are super hospitable (hospitality in the Middle East is the best in the world), have great fun with her and welcome her with open arms. However, even if they love her, her marrying Hassan could damage their business relationships in Saudi or their business.
In Saudi culture an overseas girlfriend is fine. But a wife like Rih is something else when their business is in Saudi.
It can be rough – I have a good friend who truly loved his girlfriend (an Ethiopian-American girl); but his family would NEVER have allowed her as first wife (second only and he wasn’t allowed to have a second wife until 40 in that family) and she would NEVER be a second wife. They were both heart-broken.
This. They would have made Megan’s treatment look like a cakewalk.
Nope , no its not. It’s still spelt Muslim.
I’ve seen it spelled Muslim and Moslem in English and I knew this wasn’t quite right. Quick research shows the two terms were used interchangeably until 9/11 or thereabouts. Muslim is now the most common accepted spelling in English. “Moslem” when pronounced a certain way in Arabic apparently means “one who is evil and unjust.” The Daily Mail was using Moslem pretty frequently up until 2004ish and a Muslim group sent a letter to the editor in the early 2000s asking it to stop. So Muslim hasn’t always been the common spelling, only maybe for about the last 2 decades or so (word nerd here).
Arabic doesn’t have written vowels in the same way that English does. Muslim and moslem I would guess both would be written
موسلم .
Only the first vowel of the English word (u/o) is written and there’s only one option for وthat vowel.
The part I’m not sure is the s as there are two letters that sound like a and one like z too
)س ص ز)
Damn. Hope she’s okay.
I like that there are no details. Good for her.
The guy was previously married and Rihanna is just a plaything to pass time and besides she was/is friends with Naomi Campbell which the man used to previously bonk. Also he is not stupid to marry her, even in conservative societies everyone gossips and discusses others and at his level people would make fun of him saying why did he marry her plus it would not look good for him too either. She was dumb to realise it would amount to anything, surprised such a worldly artist Rihanna and clueless that he would not be interested in her long term.
I think she didn’t put an album out because she was busy as hell with launching Fenty.
For real, she’s doing 95321 things at the same time, let her breath. Not everything has to do with some man.
Guys, I really need pictures of that fine man to come to a logical conclusion. He is so fine!
Not surprised. Those two cultures were probably never going mix. Unlike Prince Harry, who proclaimed to the world his love of Duchess Meghan, this guy was always lurking in the shadows. Always some grainy photo at night. Not a good sign for a girl.
I agree. It’s almost like he didn’t claim her. Always hiding. Also, Shes been dropping hints for a year (vogue article she talks about marriage and kids.) she wanted to marry him! But it’s clear he didn’t want the same thing…She’s way too good for that. I hope she realizes it. I’ve been a huge rih fan for years so I hope she’s ok.
Wow did you just say “those two cultures were probably never going to mix”??? That is REALLY offensive.
How about some people just like privacy ???
“Claim her”? Are you serious? Okay.
#1: women are not property to be claimed.
#2: I’m sure that the Muslim marriage populations all over the world who actually have healthy loving relationships and value each other as people, would certainly never use language such as “claimed” when referring to their partners. Which in fact is perpetuating damaging stereotypes that every single Muslim man is domineering over his wife, and that his wife was property to be “claimed”.
#3: couples don’t need to shout their love from the rooftops or make these grand gestures in order to prove their love and devotion to one another. We don’t know these people. Maybe they actually did love and respect each other and were devoted to each other, but as life sometimes shows, just weren’t compatible as a couple and so they mutually parted ways, rather than doing the stupid thing of marrying and having children to “fix” that little problem of inherent incompatibility. To insinuate he’s some sketchy guy because of his private demeanour, or “forbidden” to marry her because of his religion, is very offensive.
I know RiRi can pull off almost anything, but what in the **** is that mint monstrosity?? That’s all I’m here for… she will be totally fine post-breakup.
+1
I was so mesmerized by her eyes in that color that I didn’t even try and figure that out!
Shame. They made probably the most beautiful couple in the world.
Yes!
Can we please stop with the racist commentary on their “cultures” being incompatible and calling him ‘shady’? Saudis are complex human beings like the rest of us. Please stop reducing people to a 1 dimensional ‘culture’ or ‘tribe.’ And in reality, none of us can really understand Saudi society unless we are from there, so let’s not write comments on this Hassan guy as if we are an authority on his lived experience and whole society. It’s 2020 people, do better!
What I will comment on is how basic every guy probably is for Riri. I remember when she broke up with this Hassan in 2018 for a period and the headlines were a quote from a friend saying “Rihanna just gets tired of men sometimes.”That was the best headline of that year!
I certainly did not mean to imply he was actually shady but I can see how it would be interpreted that way. I was more looking askance at how the US Weekly article was written than the person himself. Again, I meant no offense and am deeply sorry if that is how it was received.
@yasmine
It’s 2020 – tell Saudi Arabia to do better.
That country is run by pure evil. You are sick to defend it.
The families of plane victims on 9/11 STILL fighting for their day in court w/SA. the country helps ordinary citizens escape the USA when they rape/enslave their maids/gfs/etc & get caught.
Play nice all you want…until it’s blood you love that gets spilled.
What does that have to do with a private citizen who has nothing to do with that tragedy and his relationship with a pop singer? He’s not MBS. These comments are overflowing with Islamophobia and racism.
@ OG Cleo
I know right?
Maybe tell your president to stop defending it first.
I agree w you Yasmine. I worked with many Muslim customers when I worked at a Honda dealership. Some wore traditional clothing and the men did the majority of the talking. Other younger ones were more Americanized with Western clothing and the woman speaking and making decisions. Like any religion/culture/background, not everyone believes/acts the same. I agree that’s it’s dangerous to stereotype.
There are plenty of White Americans that live in households where the husband makes all the decisions and is the “head of the family”.
@me, exactly. So it’s not that different from us..can’t judge. I’m from a country family w a hillbilly for a stepdad and they had no problem accepting my black husband. I’m trying to say even though he might be from a different background, that doesn’t neccesarily mean they don’t get along. For example, not all Christians are the same. In some, the man is the head of the household, other Christians dont hold as tightly to that philosophy. That’s what I was trying to say. Not all muslims are the same, just like each race can not be judged by the whole. There are individual differences.
@ Joanna
100% agree. But what I was trying to say is that being “Westernized” doesn’t necessarily mean that men aren’t still the head of the household in some families. It should be 50/50 but men can reign “supreme” in their families regardless of culture/religion or how “westernized” you think you are. Also, we shouldn’t assume that a woman wearing a Hijab is being completely controlled by her husband.
@me, true. I guess I did make my own assumptions there. Which is what I’m saying we shouldn’t do. Sorry 😊
@Joanna
Hey it’s ok. It’s a learning experience. We learn and move on. None of us are perfect. I respect you so much for your sincere reply !
So true. Western non-Muslim misogynists, particularly white ones, at best get to be judged as individuals (not having to answer personally for every ill from their cultures), and at worst get pass after pass after pass whether they’re male or female. It’s not the same for brown people from certain parts of the world. There are a lot of situations every day where brown women even get shit from Western white people for not accepting misogyny. People forget that though. Awesome job pointing this out, ladies.
BTW, this is not to justify other toxic behaviors of my (Muslim, Indian) grandparents or clap for a bare minimum of human decency shown to girls, because it’s always fucked up to tell any woman she should be grateful someone isn’t brutalizing her. But I just have to point something out: my mother was never physically abused by them. A couple of the girls I knew growing up who had some type Christian, Catholic, or even just not particularly religious parents, were physically abused by parents for misogynistic reasons on top of the emotional abuse though. Some of them were white, some of them were Latina, some of them were black, and one of them was Asian, but they were all born somewhere in the west. The most recent situation was in 2014. Misogyny is everywhere.
What Yasmine and OGcleo said. I find these “different cultures” comments really racist and offensive.
3 years is just a natural cut off for a lot of relationships.
he might be the best of men, but the cultures they come from are incompatible. people live in different ways all around the world. that’s not an insult.
It IS an insult. They both were living together in London for 3 years. She even went on vacation with his family. Remind me again what the divorce rate in America is among White couples. So do you feel the same about Meghan and Harry? Both are from very different worlds. Are you saying they will get divorced?
She probably found out that she was never going to be considered marriage material and bounced. (If she was actually wanting marriage). There’s very little likelihood that a guy who is dependent on his very conservative family for work and resources is going to marry a woman as independent, self possessed, accomplished and also notorious as Rihanna. She would be an acceptable companion for a period of time but likely not as a wife and mother of his children.
His loss. She’s more accomplished than he will ever be. It would be hard for Unknown Lesser Cousin Guy to keep up, no matter how gorgeous he is or how wealthy and powerful his family is.
Yes, it is one thing to be ok with a relationship (since when do adult children end relationships because their parents say so), but maybe the family drew a line at marriage. Rihanna absolutely wanted to marry this guy. She said so herself. This was not a mutual break up, dears. Unless he didn’t love her, I think his family simply didn’t approve of this union. Old fashioned/conservative families will always be like that and that’s a universal fact, no matter where in the world you are born. They’re just not open to some things. Maybe race is not their problem but her job or her high profile or a different religion. Who knows.
Of course, I hope that’s not the case but this guy has a lot to lose and Rihanna was crazy about him. That was not a break up she wanted.
He’s so fine and she’s gorgeous. My consolation services are available.
She has so much going on and it probably ran its course. She’s now back to hanging out with ASAP Rocky and the navy is having a meltdown.
Me first honey 🤣😂
Wow the islamofobia is disgusting. He’s family is not conservative they were actually on holiday with Rihanna and Hassan in italy. Google is free.
Yeah don’t you dare say anything about Harry and Meghan, but say all the racist sh*t you want about Muslim people. WTF? I stated above Hassan and Ri lived together in London !
thanks to everyone calling this out <3 i believe commenters on this site mean well, and I really hope some of them take the opportunity to reflect of their subconscious biases instead of getting offended and blocking an opportunity to grow
Even in the west society is still very patriarcal and men can’t stand when women have a differing opinion or are assertive (she’s a bitch, she’s hysterical, she’s on her period), 1 in 5 women get raped in her lifetime.
It’s too easy to point your finger at another culture and say they’re evil but the west still has a long way to go.
That’s not how Rihanna works. She doesnt do sad-sack lol. If she had music to put out she would have – regardless of her relationship status.
For such a huge global star, Rihanna keeps her private life quiet. I doubt we’ll ever know why they broke up.
Of course it was not going to work out for them.
A girl from the Barbados that has been on screen naked more than I can count and a rich man from SA getting married together. Please. Listen. I love Riri as an artist and I don’t know the guy personally to say anything about him but facts are facts. I have meet saudis for work. They wouldn’t even shake my hand in front of their colleagues. They barely spoke to me. They were polite and professional but that was it. These two getting married was a pipe dream. Dating? Ok. Getting married? Nop. Don’t underestimate the different cultures. They have weight. Sorry for them anyway. It must hurt after 3 years.
Half Arab here. I’ve spent some time in Saudi Arabia and know some wealthy Saudis. I don’t think it’s racist to say there are cultural differences. Saudi Arabia is one of the weirdest places on Earth. The Saudi elite is super cosmopolitan and internationalized, but they’ve built their global reach on a deal with the devil of Wahhabism (religious fundamentalism) that’s always there beneath the surface. At the end of the day, old men who are the heads of families have all the power and no independently wealthy and powerful woman is ever going to be accepted. Of course I have no idea what’s going on with Rihanna. But I would never, ever marry a member of the Saudi elite, no matter how much I loved him. People above saying it would make the British royal family look like a cake walk are right.
thanks for the insight. I am happy to see somebody say there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging the cultural differences.
Thank you. Wahhabism is not Islam as Mohammed intended it. This relationship thankfully ended before marriage, which was never going to happen anyway. She dodged a bullet.
Having been married to and currently in a relationship with a man from a different culture and religion than mine I know that it would never work out positively.
IT IS NOT RACISM OR DOG WHISTLING TO POINT OUT THAT PEOPLE WITH FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCES SHOULD NOT MARRY.
Have fun, but unfortunately don’t get too attached and certainly dont have kids. I speak from experience.
You guys are only saying this because he’s Saudi and Muslim. If he was Chinese and Christian would you still feel the same way? Probably not. So you have issues with a White American marrying an African American too then? Oh let me guess “that’s different”.
Excuse me @ME but the current relationship I’m in is with a non muslim and non black but he is a person of color and different religion. However, even if he were the same religion it would not work for other reasons.
Stop dog whistling and generalizing, please.
@ Soupie
Aren’t YOU the one that’s generalizing ? What makes you think Rihanna and Hassan had “fundamental differences”? Plenty of people who come from different backgrounds have successful marriages and plenty of people who come from the SAME background end up getting divorced.
Rihanna has been hanging out and probably hooking up with A$AP Rocky since October.
I wish I’d been paying attention to a conversation with someone within the last two week bc i recall them saying she’s was hooking up with someone who was not Hassan Jameel. I didn’t think it was A$AP Rocky, but I can’t think of who it was. Darn it.
Someone seriously wrote that he was Saudi= toxic. WOW. Racisk is well and alive.