EXCLUSIVE How pregnant Rihanna is coping with the devastating death of her dad

Daily Mail​

02-06-2025

Rihanna, who is currently pregnant with her third child, is reportedly struggling with the abrupt and heart-wrenching loss of her father Ronald Fenty.
Although the pair had a complex relationship, which included periods of both reconciliation and estrangement, an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively that the death of the superstar's dad has taken a heavy toll on the superstar (born Robyn Rihanna Fenty), 37.
'Robyn has had a very difficult relationship with her father over the years but his death has hit her like a ton of bricks. Being pregnant and dealing with ASAP's legal woes have been an emotional roller coaster for her the last few months, and to add to it all, her dad was getting sick, and it started to become too much,' the source added.
They continued: 'As much as you realize that something like this is occurring, it is still completely heartbreaking and that is where she is right now.'
The insider also noted that she 'has forgiven her father and, in death, they got back to a loving father and daughter relationship.'
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'But, she is in pain, especially being a mother herself and there being a chance that her kids would have lost their dad to jail a few months back, she feels how important family is,' the source explained. 'This is going to take a long time, and maybe even forever to get over. Sad time in her world right now.'
Over the weekend, news broke that Fenty died at age 70 in Los Angeles following a 'brief illness,' according to Starcom Network, a local outlet from Barbados.
At this time, his official cause and date of death have not been made public.
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Rihanna for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Rihanna and her dad had a tumultuous relationship, which saw them become embroiled in legal woes at one point.
The strained relationship with her father was brought into the spotlight in 2009—four years after her debut single—when she revealed they hadn't spoken in more than a year.
'I've been the one trying to reconcile with him forever,' she said during an appearance on Ryan Seacrest's Kiis FM radio show, per The Hollywood Reporter.
'I haven't heard from my father in over a year. I try though, I reached out to him. I did my part. Now it's on him.'
At the time, she said they had a falling out after he 'embarrassed' her on her tour.
'He disrespected some people on the bus and I didn't like that, so I kind of just let him go back home,' she said.
The pop star also said at the time that she was 'upset' that her dad had given interviews following her assault at the hands of then-boyfriend Chris Brown.
'He kind of did something that was really upsetting. He turned his back on me and went to the media,' she continued.
'He got paid to talk about stuff - all these little interviews he was doing after the whole situation in February.
'I hadn't spoken to him and he was speaking as though we did. It was so disappointing to me.'
In 2019, she sued her father for using their last name for his company Fenty Entertainment. In the suit, she accused him and his business partner of representing themselves as her agents.
She withdrew her lawsuit in 2021, and it's believed that the two came to a settlement.
Ronald has battled addiction to crack cocaine in the past and has long been a heavy drinker.
Rihanna told Oprah that as a child she witnessed her father physically abuse her mother, once breaking her nose.
Then in 2008 Ronald was sent home from her North American tour following his drunken behavior on her tour bus.
Ronald has said that Rihanna then froze him out for two years before they reconciled.
In 2013 the singer quietly put Ronald through a $58,000 Malibu rehab program to save him from jail after he was arrested during a visit to California.
But in 2014 Ronald was thrown out of her Diamond Ball after embarrassing his daughter by getting drunk and falling over on the red carpet.
He left California without seeing his daughter on that trip, although the two later reconciled once more.
And despite their subsequent legal problems, Rihanna even purchased a large house that he lived in.
Rihanna is one of three children Ronald shared with his ex-wife Monica Braithwaite, whom he divorced in 2002. In addition to the Grammy winner, they also have sons Rajad and Rorrey.
Ronald also has three other children from previous relationships - Kandy, Samantha, and Jamie.
TMZ published a photo of Rihanna's brother Rajad Fenty arriving to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Wednesday in a car. His sister Rihanna is said to have been in the vehicle as well however she was not pictured.
Despite their conflicts, Rihanna and Ronald appear to have overall remained on good terms.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ronald praised Rihanna for providing him support after he contracted coronavirus.
'My daughter Robyn was checking in on me every day,' he told The Sun at his home in Barbados April 2020, referring to the pop star by her birth name.
Ronald said Rihanna did everything she could to help him from her home in the U.S.
'I thought I was going to die to be honest. I have to say, I love you so much, Robyn,' he told the outlet.
'She did so much for me. I appreciate everything she has done.'
The pop star even purchased a ventilator and sent it to Ronald in Barbados, but he had yet to use it at the time.
In 2022, Ronald told Page Six he was 'ecstatic' to learn Rihanna was expecting her first child with partner A$AP Rocky (the couple are now expecting baby number three, with Rihanna unveiling her pregnancy at the Met Gala).
'I'm so happy that I jumped for joy. I'm still so excited,' Fenty told the outlet.
'Rihanna always said that she wanted children, she loves kids. She always takes care of her cousins' kids…she's going to be a good mom,' her father said.
The celebrity father, who spoke via phone from his home in Barbados, said he found Rocky to be 'a very cool guy' after the two got a chance to meet when his daughter brought the rapper home in December 2020.
'I like him,' he added, before revealing that he got the news of Rihanna's pregnancy a day before she and Rocky (born Rakim Mayers) went public with her burgeoning tummy.