Despite their very complicated history, Chris Brown and Rihanna still keep in contact.
In fact, not only do they communicate from time to time, but the 28-year-old singer wished the “Work” songstress a very happy birthday on Instagram.
Though some may have been surprised to see the tribute on social media, sources recently revealed the couple is still close.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY @badgalriri,” the father of one posted on Instagram Tuesday, February 20.
Some fans were upset about the post because of the pair’s history.
For those who don’t remember, the “Umbrella” hitmaker was sent to the hospital back in 2009 after Chris assaulted her.
Many users expressed their frustration on his post, though the comments have since been removed.
“KEEP RIHANNA’S NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH,” one user wrote under the photo.
“Delete this?? Abusing women and continuing to stalk them long after they’ve moved on is creepy and sad, not funny or cute,” somebody else shared.
Another user added, “So we just gonna pretend like 2009 didn’t happen?”
The “Fine China” hitmaker pleaded guilty to assaulting RiRi and ultimately accepted a plea deal.
He was put on five years of probation and had to attend domestic violence counseling for one year.
They then gave their relationship another shot in 2012, but ultimately called it quits for good in 2013.
Despite their complicated past, a source told Us Weekly they are still very friendly with one another.
“Fans might have been surprised that Chris wished Rihanna a happy birthday so very publicly on social media. However, they are good friends and talk all the time,” a source shared.
However, another source revealed Rihanna is totally over Chris and is tired of him bringing her name up.
“Rihanna has really gotten to the point where she’s just tired of the whole Chris Brown thing,” a source told Hollywood Life.
“She’s tired of being asked to talk about him during interviews, she’s tired of the endless speculation, and she’s tired of Chris feeding into the rumor mill by constantly talking about, and name checking her.”
The source continued, “As far as Rihanna is concerned that period of her life is now firmly in the past, she’s put it all behind her, and she’s grown a lot as a person since those days.
“In many ways Rihanna doesn’t even recognize the girl that she was back then. It seems like a lifetime ago and so much has passed since then.”
The songstress has since moved on with billionaire boyfriend Hassan Jameel, but she does want happiness for her former love.
“Rihanna doesn’t wish Chris any ill will — the exact opposite in fact, she would love to see him happy and successful — but, she really wants that chapter in her life to be closed for once and for all,” the source shared.
Rihanna has opened up about her relationship with Breezy in the past and even shared that she was protective of him, even though he assaulted her.
“I was very protective of him. I felt that people didn’t understand him. … But you know, you realize after a while that in that situation, you’re the enemy,” she told Vanity Fair back in 2015.
“You want the best for them, but if you remind them of their failures, or if you remind them of bad moments in their life, or even if you say I’m willing to put up with something, they think less of you — because they know you don’t deserve what they’re going to give.”
Meanwhile, the “Forever” hitmaker also opened up about his relationship with Rihanna during his 2017 documentary, Welcome to My Life.
“My trust was totally lost with her, she hated me after that. I tried everything, she didn’t care. She just didn’t trust me after that,” he stated.
“From there, it just went downhill because there were too many verbal fights, physical fights as well.”
He continued, “Mutual sides. It is the first time I get to say anything. We would fight each other. She would hit me, I would hit her and it never was OK.”
Needless to say, their relationship was not healthy at all.
“There was always a point where we’d talk about it like, ‘What the f—k are we doing?” he said.
“Like, ‘I don’t like you slapping me.’ If I go on stage I got a scratch on my face and I gotta explain it like, ‘Oh, no I fell.’ If you got a scar or a bruise you gotta put makeup on. I’m not ever trying to put my hands on any female.”
While we know their relationship is very complicated, we hope they’ve both been able to move on with their lives.
What did you think of Chris’ Instagram post? Was it inappropriate or nice? Let us know your thoughts!
