Rihanna told Oprah Winfrey that she still loves ex-boyfriend Chris Brown in a tearful interview Sunday.
The singer also admitted the former couple are on friendly terms, and have been in contact since the restraining order against Brown was lifted in February.
Rihanna said that she and Brown had met up recently on a friend’s yacht in St. Tropez. She opened up to Winfrey about her feelings for Brown, who she describes as her ‘first love.’
“I think he was the love of my life,” Rihanna said. “He was the first love and I see that he loved me the same way. We were very young and very spontaneous. We ran free. We ran wild. We were falling in love going in at a really rapid pace and we forgot about ourselves as individuals.”
That love turned violent in February 2009 when Brown was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon after attacking then 20-year-old Rihanna, who suffered multiple contusions and had bite marks on her body.
Rihanna told Winfrey that Brown is “in a relationship of his own” and maintains that she is single. However, Rihanna admitted her feelings for Brown are complicated.
“We built a trust again and that’s it. We love each other and we probably always will. And that’s not anything that we’re gonna try to change. It’s not something you can shut off if you’ve ever been in love,” Rihanna said.
Watch the music video for Rihanna’s “We Found Love” below:
