Of course Rihanna agreed to pose for a Vogue cover in her third trimester! Of course! Rihanna has been enjoying the hell out of her pregnancy and that’s basically what this Vogue cover interview is all about. Rihanna talking about how unprepared she is, but just kind of going on a vibe. She talks a lot about how much she loves ASAP Rocky and how easy it is between them. But the funniest parts are when she’s talking about how much she hates maternity clothes and how particular she is about baby clothes. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
Her pregnancy cravings: “I usually hate desserts, but all of a sudden you come close to me with a chocolate-covered donut and you’ve got my heart forever,” she says, giggling. Tangerines are a thing too. She eats them by the dozen, sprinkled with salt. Yes, salt. “It has to be with salt and only with salt, because in Barbados we take our fruits to the ocean and soak them. Trust me, it really is a thing.”
No maternity clothes: “When I found out I was pregnant, I thought to myself, There’s no way I’m going to go shopping in no maternity aisle. I’m sorry—it’s too much fun to get dressed up. I’m not going to let that part disappear because my body is changing….I’m hoping that we were able to redefine what’s considered ‘decent’ for pregnant women. My body is doing incredible things right now, and I’m not going to be ashamed of that. This time should feel celebratory. Because why should you be hiding your pregnancy?”
Falling for Rocky: “People don’t get out of the friend zone very easily with me. And I certainly took a while to get over how much I know him and how much he knows me, because we also know how much trouble we can land each other in.”
Going on a roadtrip with Rocky during the pandemic: “I cooked our food on this little janky grill I bought from Walmart. I still have it, too. It works like nobody’s business. I love the simple things but also the grand adventures. There’s no pretentious my-brand-your-brand bullsh-t, it’s just us living. I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side.”
Whether the baby was planned: “Planning? I wouldn’t say planning. But certainly not planning against it. I don’t know when I ovulate or any of that type of sh-t. We just had fun. And then it was just there on the test. I didn’t waste any time. I called him inside and showed him. Then I was in the doctor’s office the next morning and our journey began.”
She hasn’t had crazy mood swings: “I was bracing myself for something insane because I knew I wouldn’t have my usual coping mechanism: I can’t just go and smoke a joint right now. But I was pleasantly surprised that I’ve been able to manage.” Still, there will be times when an innocuous Instagram post will trigger a flood of tears.
She put a night nurse on hold at the urging of friends. “I’m sure that will be helpful, but they’re going to have to fight my mom, because I can’t imagine anyone telling her how to put her grandkid to bed.”
She doesn’t want a traditional baby shower either: “No brunch, no blush tones. And no animal-shaped nothing. I mean it’s lit for a lot of people—I’ve even planned a couple of baby showers like that myself—it’s just not right for me. Personally, I want a party. I want everyone to be plastered and crawling out. And it’s got to be co-ed! Don’t put me on no wicker chair somewhere with gifts at my feet where everyone is staring at me.” A gender-reveal party is off the table too. “I asked my doctor: Is something wrong with me for not wanting this? Because people keep asking me. Am I a bad mom? When we’re ready to tell the world, we’ll just tell them.”
She hasn’t bought so much as a pair of baby booties. “I’m so behind on everything… I haven’t bought anything yet.”
I mean, some women are just missing the “cutesy pregnancy” gene and that’s fine. Rihanna shouldn’t be forced into wearing maternity jeans or having a brunch baby shower or shopping for baby stuff. Plus, regarding the baby stuff… as soon as this Vogue interview dropped, I’m sure every baby-related company arranged to send Rihanna every single thing she needs. All of her designer friends are surely sending her baby clothes too. The only thing I’ve found a bit weird about Rihanna’s pregnancy really is her complete blanking on maternity clothes. I mean, it’s 2022, maternity clothes are not just “floral dresses” and “stretchy shirts” now. There’s some cute stuff and it’s weird that she doesn’t realize that, or want to just pick up a few “comfortable” items that fit her expanding body. Anyway, I love that Rihanna knew we were curious so she just decided to give an interview where she talked about being in love and being pregnant.
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- Santa Monica, CA – A pregnant Rihanna keeps it cool in baby blue as she heads to Giorgio Baldi restaurant for dinner in Santa Monica. Pictured: Rihanna BACKGRID USA 15 MARCH 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: TPG / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Rihanna leaves Jay Z’s Oscar party at Chateau Marmont. Pictured: Rihanna BACKGRID USA 28 MARCH 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: 42 / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Cover and IG courtesy of Vogue. Other pics courtesy of Backgrid
Maternity clothes are a waste of money.
Disagree. A well cut and comfortable pair of maternity pants with the big waistband that cups the belly is worth every penny. I was still going to the office and wasn’t going to show up in sweats.
I disagree, too. I needed my maternity closes, and wore them even after I had my babies. Most bodies do not bounce back that quickly after childbirth.
Disagree wholeheartedly. I wanted to be mostly comfortable and look presentable – I am not a stomach hanging out person not pregnant, and being pregnant wasn’t going to change that for me. Well fitting clothes are always important.
Generally disagree, but it totally depends on your lifestyle and the size of your bump/when you are pregnant. My first baby was due at the end of September 2019 and I didn’t have clothes that I could wear to work that fit my very pregnant body. Whether I bought “maternity” clothes or something else, I had to go shopping. I found maternity clothes much easier to navigate and more comfortable than trying to wrangle “regular” clothes and still look professional.
This time around I am due at the end of May and, since I’ve been working from home, my needs are dramatically different. I had to get some maternity leggings/pants but have otherwise been able to wear my chunky sweaters from pre-pregnancy through the winter.
I don’t understand this negative attitude towards maternity clothes, a lot of my friends are super opposed to them on principle. But, you aren’t a failure for not fitting into your pre-pregnancy wardrobe when you are pregnant, and it’s not unreasonable to want to be comfortable while your body is changing dramatically.
Rihanna is older and thinks she’s going to reinvent pregnancy. She’s not. I didnt want and didnt buy maternity clothes until everything didnt fit and marternity clothes were so well made and so comfortable in the right size: those maternity’s jeans are great. But my husband’s tshirts and lounge clothes also seemed like a gift from god.
Maternity clothes were a godsend. Hard disagree. Also how lucky for her not to have a stretch mark in sight. I looked like (and still look like) Freddie Krueger dragged his knives on me.
37 weeks and sitting in maternity clothes right now! No regrets, they’re all I’ve lived in for awhile now. They’re comfortable when pregnancy itself is already super uncomfortable.
But I will say I bought most of my maternity clothes from old navy, which is pretty affordable. Not sure I could justify dropping lots of money on them.
When I had my first I struggled with seeing myself as a mother and a pregnant person. After the baby came it took me a long time to let go of my old self, or more to find a way to balance my new motherhood and my old self. So I get what she is saying. Also I understand the frustration with maternity wear. Personally I was offended by the lack of professional work wear for pregnancy. I have to wear suits to work every day and it was nearly impossible to find something appropriate. I had to order from the US ( I’m from Canada) and pay duties and shipping.
This is exactly what happened to me with my first. I think I just bought 2 pair of pants because the belly expanders didn’t work anymore. Rihanna’s words resound with me. It took me a long time to see myself as a mom.
I recently had my second and was a complete different story.
It’s funny you say that, in my old company we had a ‘maternity jacket’ that did the rounds as various colleagues got to the stage in their pregnancy when their old jackets wouldn’t do up anymore and it was pulled out of the cupboard and dry cleaned for when they needed to be client facing. We were fortunate as it was consultancy so they could shift their roles as they got further along to reduce the need for travel and client clothes. We were smart in the office but didn’t need to be in suits which clearly helped.
I’ve loved Rihanna’s styling of her bump, and I understand what she’s saying about the maternity clothes. It’s her right to wear whatever but that statement made me cringe a bit. I’m not a mom, never been pregnant, but, it really bugs me when pregnant celebrities refuse to wear maternity clothes and instead buy larger sizes. Kant Middleton did that during her first pregnancy and her dresses didn’t fit properly. For her subsequent pregnancies she ended up buying nice maternity pieces and looked lovely.
IMO, refusing to buy maternity clothes sends a bad message about them, but I could be wrong. What do I know. *Shrug*
Totally agree with everything you said. Buying bigger clothes seems like such a waste of money. Maternity clothes are designed to grow and stretch with you. I already had a lot of big sweaters and tunics so I didn’t buy any tops but I couldn’t imagine wearing just a bigger size of jeans/pants with a normal restrictive waistline. Like you said there are some cute maternity clothes out there now, you’re not walking around in some awful tent dress.
Yeah, I find the attitude that maternity closes are somehow bad to a prettty negative message. Most women have to work while pregnant. They don’t have the luxury Rihanna does to let their baby bumps out.
Yeah, whenever I see her or saw other celebs with their pregnant bellies and their skin looking gorgeous I wonder how they got so lucky. I never got stretch marks on my belly but it sure as heck didn’t look like that. I had so many deep blue and purple veins running up and down it I wondered if there was something wrong lol.
It’s not even about how the bare pregnant looks, IMO. There are very, very, very few jobs out there that it’s appropriate to be showing off your stomach, pregnant or not, male or female, cis or trans.
Most people that get pregnant need to work, and many have bodies that are going to require maternity clothes to look professional.
The only thing I bought were maternity jeans/pants which I wore pretty much every day. I think she looks great and I’m loving the fashion show but her lewks just wouldn’t be practical for us plebs.
Same, although I did buy some tops because my first was back in the day where all I had were tiny tight tee shirts, yay early aughts fashion. But those jeans I also wore after my pregnancy when I wasn’t able to fit back into my old ones. I also cannot imagine not wearing a bra while pregnant like I’ve seen her do a lot. My boobs are already a nice size so with pregnancy they got huge and so so heavy. The feeling of them just hanging off my chest and/or laying on my belly was just super uncomfortable to me so I always wore a bra or sports bra just to have that support or fabric between my boobs and top of my belly. I’m glad she’s doing what makes her comfortable though and I’m here for that.
I am from East Africa and we eat our mangoes with salt and chilli. Its yum!
In southeast Asia too and Mexico. There is something about the combination of sweet-tartness and saltiness that will make one drool even with just the thought of it.
I need to try that!
She is glorious and looks just like herself. No need to become a different person while pregnant. I had a friend like this, she hated maternity clothes and went through her whole pregnancy without buying any.
On the last picture, I noticed her scar. Did she have some major surgery in the past?
Are you talking about the vertical line down her belly? That’s just linea nigra, which many women get during pregnancy. Cardi B also had a prominent linea nigra.
I think its especially prominent on black women.
Looks like Vogue decided to photoshop it out in some of their pics.
Yeah, but in a sense some do become a different person when pregnant. Why pretend to be the exact same person when you’re not the exact same person and never will be again? Your essence as a human doesn’t change, but everything changes.
Not that I fault her. That first pregnancy and child really rock one’s world.
C’mon Ri, nobody wears shapeless maternity clothes with navy collars and huge ribbons. It hasn’t been fashionable since the 90s. Demi made that pregnancy body cool. That photoshoot she did with Vanity Fair were iconic. Lots of celebs recreated that. Then Jen Aniston made that pregnant Rachel exposed belly look popular among expectant mothers. She’s not even pregnant but it looked convincing.
GORGEOUS.
I’ve always loved Rihanna and after this interview, I love her that much more. She’s out there doing her own thing and being her own person. She looks absolutely gorgeous. ❤️
Yup. She is radiant! 🙂
Yep, she is and she does. I especially liked what she said about women and pregnancy, because it really is as simple as that: “This time should feel celebratory. Because why should you be hiding your pregnancy?” It’s not like it’s somebody’s funeral. People can’t let a woman have or enjoy anything visual without reacting like they’ve just stepped out of a period piece.
Wow!! Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous photos. And omg that duvet coat cape
I resisted maternity clothes but ran to an Old Navy in the middle of the workday when my jeans became unbearable! I found some cute, affordable clothes, but the other benefit was, I could pass them on to friends and family members when they needed them. It’s a nice way to build community!
That is silly. There are adorable maternity clothes that show your bump as much as you want. Other parts of the body resize as well and maternity clothes fit better.
Beautiful. When I was at that stage, my ankles had swollen to about twice their normal size. All I could wear were birkenstocks. Heels? GTFOH. I want to come back as Rihanna in my next life.
That was exactly my thought! My ankles were so swollen! I was pregnant with twins and everything felt swollen, my pregnant body definitely did not look anything like hers… Of course it didn’t before I got pregnant, either 😂
She’s obviously got lots of other stuff going on, and I’m with her about celebrating the pregnant body and all, but I feel like there was a missed opportunity for a Rhianna maternity line here!
I was glad for maternity clothes myself (although I carry small and haven’t really needed them until the third trimester in my pregnancies–for many of us, there is a very awkward stage where most things are too small, but maternity clothes are too big and just look weird), but I don’t begrudge anyone else a different approach.
I know, right? She certainly isn’t obligated but if she hates the maternity clothing options out there for women, she’s got the money and power to put out a line that expresses HER maternity style. It would sell like churros at Disney.
Looks like she’s carrying a girl
I know she’s always had nice lips, but did she get lip fillers. I hope not. That’s not good for the baby.
LOL. black women don’t need lip fillers. And she’s pregnant anyway – lips become fuller for many.
Honestly Rihanna could probably make a moo moo look good. She’s just naturally glamorous.
I am surprised Ri did not launch a line of maternity clothing.
Look, she is a wealthy woman who can wear/or not whatever she cares to wear. But, the majority of preg women have dress codes at their jobs.
I could not have clocked in at the bank for my job with my baby on display like Ri is doing.
For the life of me couldn’t figure out what the weird reflection on her stomach was in the baby blue outfit. Then I zoomed in and figured it out. She is wearing pantyhose. Baby blue outfit and baby pink outfit for sure she is wearing pantyhose pulled up over her bump. LMOA. I’ve never been pregnant but I’d assume she’s doing that because she needs some support at this point in her pregnancy. I admire her commitment to the bare bump look but JFC that cannot be very comfortable! Rihanna babe, people really would understand if you just wanted to be comfy at this point. You aren’t going to loose your style cred if you wear a pair of maternity leggings or something every now and again.
Good for her that she can just pull her regular jeans down to fit below the baby bump, but my hip spread precluded that option.