*Rihanna gave a very revealing interview to her “Ocean’s Eight” co-star Sarah Paulson for Interview magazine’s summer issue. And in it, the singer and cosmetics mogul opens up about her spirituality, when fans can expect a new album, being in love with her billionaire boyfriend of two years, Hassan Jameel, and her plans for marriage and motherhood.
When Paulson asks whether she’s in love, RiRi replies, “Of course I am.”
“Are you going to get married?”
Rihanna pauses for a few moments before saying, “Only god knows that, girl. We plan and god laughs, right?”
Read highlights from their conversation below to see what the Bajan beauty had to say when asked if she wanted to be a mother.
For the magazine’s cover, the nine-time Grammy winner wears a white Saint Laurent trench coat and matching pumps, black stockings and a white leather bondage hood by A.F. Vandevorst x Zana Bayne. Rihanna was photographed by Pierre-Ange Carlotti and dressed by her longtime stylist Mel Ottenberg for the issue (see the cover via the Instagram embed below).
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PAULSON: When do you sleep, girl?
RIHANNA: I don’t have a sleep pattern. I have sleep pockets. I fit it in when I can. That’s why I take those personal days so seriously. Because it’s like, “You had all of me. I gave you the answers.”
PAULSON: I’m like that, too.
RIHANNA: It’s the reason why an album isn’t being spat out like it used to. I used to be in the studio, only the studio, for three months straight, and an album would come out. Now, it’s like a carousel. I do fashion one day, lingerie the next, beauty the next, then music the next. It’s like having a bunch of kids and you need to take care of them all.
PAULSON: Okay, but as a hungry kid, I need a new Rihanna album. How much longer do we have to wait?
RIHANNA: It really does suck that it can’t just come out, because I’m working on a really fun one right now. I’m really happy with a lot of the material we have so far, but I am not going to put it out until it’s complete. It makes no sense to rush it, but I want it out. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m like, “Even if I don’t have the time to shoot videos, I’m going to put an album out.”
PAULSON: But how much longer do we have to wait?
RIHANNA: I wish I knew. I have blocked off a solid period of time for the studio next month.
PAULSON: That sounds like a long time. When you were starting your career, did you always know that you wanted to build an empire and not just be an entertainer?
RIHANNA: No, sis. I had one dream and that was for my music to be heard all over the world. I didn’t even think about the fame part, and then that came, and I was like, “Oh, shoot. Do I really want to do this?” But the thing that keeps me alive and passionate is being creative. With every business outlet, I’m making something from a vision to a reality, and that’s the thing I really enjoy. Music had led me to these other outlets, and to things that I genuinely love. My mom pretty much worked in the beauty and perfume industry for a long time—she did makeup for people and was a makeup artist—so I always loved that.
PAULSON: One of the coolest things about you is that you’re impervious to criticism. You are who you are. You do what you do. You’re not going to let anyone’s opinion deter you from whatever it is that you want to be doing. Does the noise ever get to you?
RIHANNA: I have to say, I’ve always had pretty tough skin—even as a little girl, which was completely due to my parents. They never sheltered me in any way. They would tease me, and I would tease them right back. By the time I got to school, I always had this feeling like the kids were stupid. Maybe that was god’s way of preparing me for what my life was going to be like. I don’t feel any way about people’s comments. I remember being a kid and being like, “Wow! I’m in a chat room. I can say whatever I want. They don’t know how old I am. They don’t know who I am, or where I am.” There’s that idea of being a child behind a screen and having that feeling like you can say anything. That child is who I imagine behind a comment every time I see one. They would never say that to my face. They probably wouldn’t even say hello.
PAULSON: Do you want to be a mother?
RIHANNA: More than anything in life.
PAULSON: What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
RIHANNA: Pray.
PAULSON: First thing?
RIHANNA: Unless I have to pee or something. I always want to start my day with a little devotion. I buy these devotion books and they’re dated, so you just pull up the date and that devotion is for that day.
PAULSON: Have you always been a person of real faith?
RIHANNA: I’ve always been. My first time praying and fasting was when I was 7 years old. I did that on my own, because I wanted to go to New York, and I knew that this was a sacrifice I had to make in order for god to make sure I could get there.
PAULSON: Have you ever felt that god abandoned you? Or have you questioned your faith?
RIHANNA: Not my faith, but I have been in a place where I felt like maybe I had disappointed god so much that we weren’t as close. Actually, that happened to me while I was making Anti. That was a really hard time, but, thank god, I got through it.
Read the full interview here.