Rihanna & Saudi billionaire Hassan Jameel are apparently ‘the real deal’

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As we discussed yesterday, Rihanna has a man. It’s been a while since she’s had an official boyfriend – the last one was Drake, and whatever happened to end it that last time must have been major because she never looked back. For most of Tuesday evening, Rihanna’s Army was simply celebrating their girl getting some action. But then they began investigating the guy, and they figured out his identity: Hassan Jameel. He’s Saudi and his family is worth at least $1.5 billion. Oh, and he looked pleased as punch to finally be outed as Rihanna’s man, check out these new photos, exclusive to the Daily Mail:

So happy! I mean, he looks happy, as would any of us if we were banging Rihanna on the reg. She looks content, like she’s fine with us knowing that she allows him to bang her on the reg. So what else have we learned about Hassan Jameel? He’s the heir to Saudi Arabia’s largest Toyota distributor,” and he’s the deputy vice chairman of his family’s business, Abdul Latif Jameel. He owns an entire soccer/football league called the Jameel League. He’s 29 years old, just like Rihanna. And he once dated Naomi Campbell. Cough. So how are things between Rihanna and Hassan? According to the Sun, their relationship is “the real deal.”

Superstar Rihanna’s mystery lover is believed to be a Saudi businessman from one the richest families in the world, The Sun can reveal. Her secret squeeze is understood to be Hassan Jameel, whose family own the rights to sell Toyota cars in the Middle East country. Pop star RiRi, 29, was pictured enjoying a steamy snog with the bearded hunk in a pool while on holiday in Spain this week. The hitmaker straddled Hassan and kissed him repeatedly at a villa as she drank champagne and smoked a cigarette.

A source said: “This relationship is the real deal. Rihanna has told friends she’s in love with him and seems completely smitten. They’ve been spending a lot of time together away from prying eyes and are really serious. They’re really enjoying each others’ company.”

[From The Sun/Page Six]

Some are questioning how long Rihanna has been keeping Hassan on the DL. Like, have they been hooking up for a while and only recently become more serious? Or have they been serious this whole time and we just found out? Or does she still see him as more of a just-for-now piece? I have no idea. But I hope she’s having fun. If those pool photos are any indication, she’s absolutely having fun.

rih1

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, WENN.

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80 Responses to “Rihanna & Saudi billionaire Hassan Jameel are apparently ‘the real deal’”

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  1. Rice says:

    I don’t know. I think he’s a just-for-now guy. But they do look scorching hot!

    • Pandy says:

      Right? He’s a Saudi. There’s a limit to how far/how long you can go with these guys. Especially as his business is based in SA.

  2. Aiobhan Targaryen says:

    Aww!! I hope she is happy and having fun.

    Until someone starts spilling real details about him, I am choosing to believe he is an upgrade to basically every dude that she has ever been linked with.

  3. Nyawira says:

    As with all Rihannas relationships, my money on the office betting pool is on “a year, if it goes really really really well”. But hey, get it while it’s still good girl.

    • Squiggisbig says:

      If she did actually end her friendship with Naomi over this I hope it is more than a year :-/

  4. Toot says:

    I say Rihanna has been with this dude since Drake did his publicity stunt with JLo.

    I always thought that pic of him staring into the camera with JLo was a “message” of some sort, Rihanna probably told him she was completely done, so he did that foolishness.

    • BJ says:

      The Navy has found pics of Rihanna with this guy from December,they were together on New Year’s Eve.But there is no way to know when they first start talking.So who knows which happened first.

  5. nah says:

    I can’t put my finger on why, but something about this coupling is giving me major sleaze vibes.

  6. Louise says:

    Wonder what his family in Saudi think of this – right after Ramadan, too. Standby because they be having words with him about this. Their family reputation will mean a lot (Ive lived in the Middle East).

    • V4Real says:

      I’m willing to bet his family already knows. Just because we just found out they were dating it doesn’t mean his family just found out.

      • KD says:

        It isnt so much about what his family knows but rather what the community knows. Although the women are required to abide by the rules at all times, allowances are made for boys to be boys as long as they are super discreet. This is why their families give them a company title, unlimited cash and send them off into the world to sow their wild oats without a tattletell calling the religious police. With these pics he has failed miserably at the one thing required of him. Discretion.

        He is in trouble from a number of fronts. Firstly, our families tend to be very large and we dont know how many uncles and brothers he has with a claim to those billions. They also tend to be very competitive. Unless he is a favored heir, I assure you there will be relatives inching him out for a greater share for themselves because ladies, thats life. Secondly, there will be external pressure. Theres always a business rival looking to get an edge and if they can leverage your miscreants sons indiscretions to undermine your family business, they will. Hell, a well placed whisper campaign could make your daughter unmarriageable in their own social class.

        My father is Saudi but I was raised in a secular family in an American university town. I assure you that the prognosis for his “inheritance” is not good.

    • Kali says:

      Hopefully she’ll have time to have words with him about Saudis human rights abuses, treatment of women, appalling war against the people of Yemen etc before the family get rid of her.

    • SoulSPA says:

      I echo what you said Louise. I am kind of gobsmacked at the huge double standards in some awfully rich families from Saudi or UAE. Not that double standards would not occur behind close doors (peaceful culture vs. treatment of foreign workers or within the family say women and children). But if he’s a Saudi, from one of the countries with the strictest, if not the strictest moral code in the world, what he does is completely worth of negative criticism. It goes completely against what people in general and the commoners are taught, or the moral standards upheld there. Men have been punished severely for a lot less in terms of moral values. Not to mention those who fight for freedom of consciousness but that’s not the issue here. Can you imagine what that vice and moral squad from Saudi would do to a man acting like this in SA? And the woman too.

      • Louise says:

        Its all about saving face and showing off but still. Saudis travel a lot to have fun. Everyone knows this. Saudi families travel in the school holidays and that’s all fine too but family reputation is everything and this will not look good.

        He can do what he wants. But it looks very bad. He will not be worth a billion. Its family money and they will probably finance his lifestyle..and will clip his wings if need be. You see it all the time in the ME.

        It will be interesting to see what Janet Jackson walks away with. I would be surprised if its a huge amount. Its family money and I can’t see them ponying up that kind of cash.

    • KJA says:

      He’s a man. Based on my experience, things like ‘family honour’ are a lot more flexible when it comes to the males of families. The only thing he might get in trouble for is not being discreet about things that are probably openly done in private.

      • anonymous says:

        KJA, not only he is a man but he is rich, so he gets a pass for everything ! I am a practicing muslim myself and I am so over the hypocrisy and the double standard for men and women in the muslim world and especially in Saudi Arabia. If That was muslim woman in the pool, she would have been crucified

      • KJA says:

        I get you completely Anonymous. I’m Muslim too and the hypocrisy is ridiculous. I’m quite liberal in how I practise Islam, but so are my brothers. But we both know who would ‘bring shame on the family’ if anything were to happen. Even if my immediate family doesn’t care much, the wider community does and that’s normally the issue. The men can run around and do what they want when they’re young, so long as they settle down with a nice, respectable Muslim girl, and even that’s not always necessary. I love my culture, but I’m not blind to its faults.

        I’m happy for Rihanna, but this really annoys me.

      • Notmypresident says:

        Another Muslim here and this hypocrisy pisses me off to no end.

      • me says:

        I’m not Muslim but I hear ya ! Always a double standard when it comes to men. In my culture boys always get a pass and us girls are told that “girls hold all the family honor”. Ughh.

    • kibbles says:

      The 1% in the Middle East are hypocritical when it comes to following the rules that the 99% of people there must follow. They (the Royals and business class) subject the hoi polloi to daily human rights abuses in order to maintain their wealth and power. Meanwhile, they send their children to live an extremely hedonistic lifestyle in Western countries. This (a rich Saudi dating a pop star like Rihanna) is actually pretty normal and probably not surprising to his family. The children of the rich can date and have sexual relations with Western entertainers, go to university Western countries, and live like any other wealthy person in the Western world.

  7. Word says:

    Get it gurl

  8. Roxi says:

    Well, I am glad they are having fun BUT a Saudi man will always be a Saudi man and they should not end up together, especially if he wants to move back to Saudi.

  9. Shelley says:

    Alcohol, weed and pool sex. Just for fun guy, not viable long term. What he does in the West will stay here.

    • Idky says:

      +10000

      He will end up with “one of his own” for his family’s sake.

      • SoulSPA says:

        Yup, a virgin cousin or something like that.

      • frisbee says:

        Yeah agree, I doubt that this is the ‘real deal’ in any long term sense for him.

      • KD says:

        FOH with that “virgin cousin” crap.

        But yes, he will end up with a maximum of four beautiful brides from home or another acceptable Gulf State. This is typical sowing of oats for the guys of that class but he has been stupid to be photographed. It will play against the family business in the politics of commerce and some of his brothers, half brothers, uncles and cousins will use this card against him in the family succession politics. He doesnt seem especially business driven but its worth saying.

      • DangerMaus says:

        4 virgin cousins.

    • SoulSPA says:

      Agreed, Shelley. From the little I know about Saudi Arabia, there is strong censorship in place in what concerns the lives of the rich. It happens that I briefly knew a married couple (of course) from SA living in Europe. Unfortunately the cultural barrier was so strong from their part that I couldn’t get to know them a wee bit better and have the chance to ask some questions.

    • Maria F. says:

      that is what i said yesterday, but apparently it was xenophobe.

      If it is real love and he forsakes his family’s traditions and money, good for them, but otherwise I have a hard time believing that this relationship can go anywhere.

      • third ginger says:

        No. It’s not xenophobic. Saudi society is incredibly repressive for women. I have had the opportunity to meet many Saudi students at the university where I teach. So many fantastic young women want to use their education to help advance life for women back in their home country.

    • Shambles says:

      I see where you guys are coming from, but is it cool to be generalizing his family like this unless we really know how they feel about it? Yeah, maybe the broader Saudi community will side-eye it, but maybe his family just loves him and doesn’t care?

      • SKF says:

        I’m going to guess you’ve never lived in The Middle East? Families like his are rich because they are connected. It doesn’t matter what his family privately thinks, it matters how Saudi society works and how this will affect his family. Not only that but in Saudi there is a very carefully maintained balance. People like him do what they want but they keep it quiet. The religious police turn a blind eye. However, if he is this public about his behaviour there will be all sorts of things going on behind the scenes and it’s likely that representatives from the Royal Court and the religious police will be having words with his family to reign him in. That would never be ignored.

      • detritus says:

        Yeah, I really like what Radley said yesterday.

      • Chy says:

        And also his father died when he was 4 & he also only have an older brother. You guys don’t know how this family operates so hush. Yes a lot of saudi families are very strict but its really based on the family you comes from. Maybe his mother & brother really are not that psychotic & by just watching a video of him speaking you can tell he was raised in the western world because he doesnt have a strong arabic accent, sounds more european.,

    • Brittney B. says:

      Eh, I’ve enjoyed all those things during years-long relationships. Having fun doesn’t preclude commitment.

    • TyrantDestroyed says:

      I don’t think it will get serious but they seem to be enjoying the moment.

  10. Svea says:

    She should study the example of Janet Jackson.

    • ValM99 says:

      Janet married a Prince not a businessman. Lol, I’m sure Arab Royals are obviously.much more strict compared to billionaires. Everyone needs to relax. We don’t know a thing about this Hassan. Everyone needs to get their panties out of a twist. I ( a Christian woman) dated a Saudi man, and his family loved me. I got very emerged in the culture learning basic stuff. We probably would’ve of gotten married but I was too young & wanted to finish school. He wanted to move back to London bc he’s family lived there. So not ALL Saudis follow the same moral code. This is either a cute hookup, or it will last. Either way no reason to get heated

      • Ennie says:

        but… allow me to ask something here, they can marry women of other monotheistic religions, but the children HAVE TO be raised as muslims, women do not get to transmit their nationality to the children, if they divorce and the children get to visit their father’s country they could even be claimed by him or his family if they feared they were not being raised as good muslims, right?
        the rights belong to the muslim parent when they are in SA, for example, amI wrong?
        I know there are lots of good people of any religion out there, but these laws… I can’t. I hope it’s just a fling, or, if they get serious, that she keeps being as free she is, and that they stay out of strict theocracies where women are held to such standards.
        I knew a girl from my country whose husband worked in an oil company SA, and she and her children went to live with him; within their compound arrived to stay a new family. She did not know them, and she waved hello to the new neighbor… he called the police or whatever on her . It turned out to be that he was a strict Egyptian muslim. They ended up asking his company to move him to a different country. She also told a very sad story about a woman from Africa who worked as a domestic helper, and before she hired her, the saudi family she used to work for, won’t allow her to use the WC, the poor woman could not eat or drink for fear she would feel the need to go. Who could she complain to, a foreign (black)woman in her situation in SA? It is appalling, and I know that migrant workers have it bad in many places, but things like these in a country that prides from being religious … just no.

  11. Cleo says:

    LOL at all the racists on this thread coming out of the woodwork to throw accusations and assumptions around purely based on the fact that he’s Saudi.

    • Sensible says:

      Well if criticising the people of a nation that treats women like sh-t on the bottom of their collective shoes is racist, then I am racist.

      • Cleo says:

        Yes, Saudi Arabia as a nation treats women horrifically and absolutely must do better in terms of shifting national conversation about women as well as introducing new legislation.

        But when someone starts throwing “He’s Saudi, so he’ll marry a virgin cousin to make his family happy”, or “BECAUSE he’s Saudi, I don’t trust him around our women” and statements of that nature, that’s racist. Who knows, maybe he’s awful. I’m not going to assume that because of his race and religion.

      • CdnMagician says:

        The people live under essentially a military dictatorship backed by the US. They are kept brutally in line to make it easier for Western countries to use SA as a giant patch to extract resources from. Criticism of SA is completely valid and needed, but should be put in the broader context of imperialism and Orientalism, imo.

      • ria says:

        WOW CdnMagician

        …Criticism of SA is completely valid and nedded, but should be put broader context of imperialism and Orientalism,imo.

        In other Words, it is not the fault of the Saudis that they are the way they are, the evil Western Imperialistic Countries told them to be like they are.
        And they just can’t help themselves to get more free, because THE EVIL IMPERIALISTIC COUNTRIES make them stupid, too?
        Or What??
        The young Saudis have amazing Chances to study in a lot of Countries, a lot of them study in Western Universities, do you really think they never have a Chance to get to know what Freedom from the Ways of their Family Politics and Religious Politics is???
        A Lot of what goes on in the way of Families and Tradition and Family Standing in their Communities in Saudi Arabia has NOTHING to do with Imperialism or Orientalism.
        Orientalism is about a lot more Countries and Societies than Saudi Arabia and their Wahabism.

      • Otaku Fairy says:

        @Cleo, I wish I had more time today, but I completely agree with you. There’s a difference between calling out misogynistic aspects of a religion or society- which some people here are doing. That’s a good thing- and randomly assuming that one individual who happens to be Saudi has to be all those horrible things.

        Also, some of the issues being discussed on this post are part of the reason why I don’t think what Emilia Clarke said in her interview was that bad. She could have worded it better- there was definitely a part of it that screamed ‘privilege’- but her overall point wasn’t way off base.

    • Snowflake says:

      So…. Is it not that way? If you are from there, please enlighten us. Are some Muslims Americanized and the drinking, smoking blunts, and making out in public is ok? I don’t see how what they are saying is racist. If we believed was a terrorist, ok racist. But Muslim religion has a reputation for being very strict. So it brings the logical conclusion that his family will not be pleased. I mean, do you think they will be ok with Rhianna?

      • Cleo says:

        “She should look at what happened to Janet Jackson.”
        “Maybe she can talk to him about female abuses in Saudi Arabia.” (The hell is he going to do?)
        “He’ll marry one of his own.”
        “He’ll marry a virgin cousin.”
        Those statements are racist.

        Criticism of Saudi Arabia is completely valid, but to judge the rest of Islam by the standard of Wahhabism that permeates Western perception of Islam is wrong and dangerous. Not all Muslims are strict in their faith, just as not all Christians, Jews, Hindus, etc. are. I honestly don’t think his family gives a sh*t. He dated Naomi Campbell before this started, he obviously has a thing for wealthy American women.

      • SoulSPA says:

        Snowfake, I am not from Saudi nor have I ever been there. But I have lived for a few months in an Islamic Republic (by name) and got to know at friendship or acquaintance level a few Muslim men and women in Europe. The women used to be quite conservative on the outside but some still had partners out of marriage. Most wanted to marry fellow Muslims. The men on the other hand, with very few exceptions, drank and smoked and had relations with women who were not their spouses. The men were either single or married. But still observed the Ramadam and acted holier than thou in what concerns “morals”. Rest assured I am NOT painting everyone with the same brush. I have to emphasize that.

        I have a huge issue with the double standards when honour killings still exist, not only in those Islamic countries but also in Europe. There are some enlightening documentaries on youtube on gender crimes in some Eastern communities that occur in the UK.

        I also have a huge problem with violence against women in all forms, no matter the cultural background of the aggressors. But what annoys the hack out of my soul is the suffering of girls and women living in cultures where gender violence is systemic and where women and their behaviour are property of men. Literally. I am not talking only articles in the media and documentaries. I have heard real stories myself while living there. I was kind of a therapist of some sort, outside their culture, someone to be trusted with things that are unspoken of in their culture, or quickly swept under the *carpet* because “this is how things are”. Violence perpetrated by female members of the families too, still in a super strict conservative patriarchal society.

        I do not think that his family would be ok with Rhianna but it does not necessarily mean that he would not marry her. In their culture, women must be pure with high standards of moral according to their own religious/cultural codes. For the “honour” of the family and to be able to bring up offsprings accordingly.

      • Ennie says:

        Naomi nor Rihanna are American.

      • Cleo says:

        @Ennie

        Ha, you’re right! Western women, then.

    • khymera says:

      Ikr. There all but calling her his american whore saying he would never marry her. Who said she wanted to get married.

      • Maria F. says:

        that is not true. Nobody is critizing Rihanna and her lifestyle, on the contrary, but to pretend they could behave like that in Saudi Arabia and that the general society there would be ok with it, is naive.

        Maybe it has been worded a bit flippant, but fact is that he is from a very conservative country and that it will be very rare for his family and surroundings in SA to accept Rihanna. Again, should it happen, yay for love.

      • BJ says:

        There are plenty of people criticizing Rihanna.For the past 24 hrs I have read lots of negative comments about her for being with this guy especially on black blogs.Saying he will screw a black woman but would never bring one home to meet his family.

      • CynicalAnn says:

        She’s not American.

    • UmYeah says:

      Well it’s not like Rih hasn’t done some racist things, everyone wants to forget the Bullshit rice cakes incident

      • KD says:

        She was also thrown out of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. The more I think about it the more I think this guy is consciously rebelling. She is basically the worst person he could associate with.

    • KJA says:

      I’m in two minds about this whole thread tbh and I’m definitely side eyeing some comments on here. Him and his family may be quite liberal and fine with his relationship-that’s amazing and more power to them! I don’t know if there will be repercussions for him, but that uncertainty wouldn’t be there if it was a Muslim woman doing the same thing. I’m not strict in the way I practise my Islam, but the reaction to me doing it, versus a man doing the same thing are not the same.

      There’s a reason I’m not normally comfortable criticising parts of my culture I disagree with in some settings. I always feel like it’s gonna be taken and used to justify some people’s already bigoted views.

      • Notmypresident says:

        Kja, I know what you mean. There are a lot of things to criticize about Arab culture, but I’m very weary about doing it on here when some of th connectors are just waiting to bash Islam and Arabs.

    • Erica_V says:

      But if these commentors are ME or Saudi women (as some of them have IDed themselves as such) speaking on their own culture why wouldn’t their comments on what they think about this relationship be valid? They obviously have more knowledge of the culture than most of us.

  12. Shambles says:

    “he looks happy, as would any of us if we were banging Rihanna on the reg”

    This is a completely true statement.

  13. Sassback says:

    Since when is Rihanna only 29? I could have sworn she was in her 30s-is she shaving like Bey now?

    • Brittney B. says:

      She’s always been my age, and I’m 29.

    • cr says:

      She could be, but she became famous when she was in her teens, so, I’m not side-eyeing 29.

    • BJ says:

      Beyonce has never shaved her age.If Beyonce shaved her age then all the members of DC shaved their ages. Solange shaved her age.Yet nobody accuses all of them of shaving their ages.There are videos of Beyonce performing in public since she was a child even before she was on Star Search.
      As for Rihanna she had a her first hit song”Pon de Replay” in 2005 when she was 17.

    • MellyMel says:

      Nope, she’s 29. I’m another in the 29 club and our birthdays are around each other.

  14. Tan says:

    I am not sure

    She can choose anyone and sure she chose a good looking guy and it probably just end in a fling but all of it looks so fake.

  15. Pedro45 says:

    $1.5 billion wouldn’t even make his family one of the richest in Saudi Arabia much less the world.

  16. SoulSPA says:

    I am sorry that a sarcastic comment like “marrying a virgin cousin” was met such criticism. Sorry if I offended anyone. It was not racism. What I wanted to convey through a badly thought stereotype was a traditional harmful practice. Marriage between close family members, including cousins, does lead in many cases to serious health problems that affect not only the affected children (with a burden on public health system) but also their care givers.

    • TrixC says:

      Lazy stereotypes are racist. Don’t pretend it was all about your concern for the children.

  17. ValM99 says:

    Wow everyone is being so serious. What does Yemen, and Saudi codes have anything to do with Rihanna? Nothing. We know nothing about this man. I’m pretty sure his family already knows, especially if he’s dating a international pop star since December. He’s a 29 yr old billionaire, who happened to date Naomi Campbell. In the pool, sexing with Rih & smoking blunts with champagne. Does this guy seem very strict or traditional? No. The fact that they’ve gone public already says something…

    • Cleo says:

      But don’t you know EVERY Muslim is fundamentalist and EVERY Saudi man is a misogynistic monster? /end sarcasm

  18. Ashley says:

    Now I understand why rih has kept this on the low since december,reading these comments and all I have to do is just smh. If it weren’t for the paps invading their privacy,I don’t think they would’ve gone public. After all the bull shit that she has been through,I wish her all the love and happiness,she truly deserves it.

  19. Dal says:

    Of course she smitten. He’s got money so probably spoils her to death. Real love is if she found a average guy who just loved her by having pizza nite and a movie lol

  20. The Saint says:

    Didn’t janet jackson make some money out of getting divorced from some rich arab guy?

  21. Plibersek says:

    She’s a multi millionaire who can do whatever she wants. Why get with a billionaire who is going to assume the upper hand and place expectations on her? It’s unnecessary.

  22. Jeesie says:

    People realise that A LOT of wealthy Saudi’s barely set foot in the country and live very Western lives in Western countries right?

    There’s nothing remotely notable about a wealthy Saudi guy drinking, smoking weed and having pre-marital sex. In fact it’s the norm. This won’t cause any problems for his family, because every family in a position to judge has their own son partying up a storm in the West, often very publically. Where I live the club scene is like 50% wealthy Saudi’s, and they aren’t at all worried about being photographed in far more compromising positions with far more notorious people than Rihanna.

  23. gucci says:

    Neither rihanna or this dude need to give a rat’s ass about what they do because neither belong to the ‘ordinary world’. They sufficient status, money and privilege to flout conventional social expectations; those without, especially women, are typically punished for not conforming. When’s the last time anyone saw photos of a rich saudi FEMALE being papped with a western male and ostensibly fucking and smoking and drinking off-camera?? this guy gets to reap the privileges of being a rich male saudi bc there’s an egregiously hypocritical double standard. R’s an american and she ain’t gonna deny herself fun and possibly $$ swag/bling gifties for the sake of all the oppressed saudi women in general. Who cares what the hoi poloi thinks of their conduct?? They’re admired for it, so why would they curb their impulses?

  24. Whatever says:

    Abdul Lateef Jameel hosts a ton of scholarships at my university (Not a Saudi uni). There is an entire building named after him. I just find the pairing awkward/not on brand with what the name is usually associated with (philantrophy, scholarships, etc.)…