It’s believed that Rihanna and her billionaire boyfriend, Hassan Jameel, started dating late in 2016, seen together that year on New Year’s Eve. It was only reported that they were together six months later, in summer 2017, when they were photographed kissing in a pool. So it’s been two years. And it’s still happening. Here they are, leaving separately so as to avoid being photographed in the same frame, after dinner in Malibu on Saturday night. It’s the most undercover she’s been about a relationship. Can we consider it her longest relationship? Like her longest continuous relationship? Sure, she and Drake, cumulatively, were a thing for a long time but it was on and off. And the offs were always a lot longer than the ons. What will happen in Rihanna and Hassan’s third year together?
Well. She might be busy. Did it seem like Rihanna was pretty low-key in 2018? She won the Met Gala and the makeup and the lingerie line are doing great, she was fully present to promote both, but it also feels to me, looking back, that I missed her. That she disappeared for long stretches. January marks the third anniversary of the release of ANTI, her best album to date. People have been waiting for Rihanna 9 for a while. This weekend, on Instagram, when a fan asked on Instagram about when it was dropping and whether or not she could confirm a release date, she actually replied: 2019.
I’m ready. We’re all ready. A new Rihanna album is a new era in style, in aesthetic, in mood. It’s time for her to tell us.
