Ronald Fenty attends the Rihanna/Eminem Concert Daniel Robertson/startraksphoto.com
Lift her up! Ronald Fenty is “ecstatic” that daughter Rihanna is expecting baby No. 2 — an announcement that he heard along with the rest of the world during her Super Bowl LVII performance.
Fenty, 69, who got tickets to the big game thanks to the “Umbrella” singer, 35, told TMZ on Monday, February 20, that he discovered his eldest was pregnant again while sitting in the stands during her halftime performance earlier this month.
“When I got the news I was so excited,” he told the outlet. “I just hope they will have 10 fingers and 10 toes. I’m looking for a girl. Already have two grandsons [so I’m] looking for a granddaughter now.”
The beauty mogul headlined the Super Bowl on February 12 where she sang a medley of her hits. During her opening number, the Barbados native showed off her baby bump in an all-red jumpsuit, revealing that she was pregnant with her and ASAP Rocky’s second child. The rapper, 34, was spotted filming and cheering on his love from the sidelines.
Us Weekly broke the news that Rihanna and Rocky were dating in 2020 after working together on the remix of her song, “Cockiness (Love It).” The pair welcomed their first child, a son, in May 2022.
Fenty, for his part, gives Rocky the full fatherly stamp of approval.
“I met ASAP a few times now, he’s a very cool person. I like him,” the former designer told TMZ on Monday. “I think he’s going to be a great dad and I know she’s going to be a great mom.”
Fenty shared that the “Monster” singer “loves kids” and is “over the moon” about expanding her family. “She’s so happy. She was always talking about having a child — she was saying, ‘[I want] more than one [kid],’ then she said, ‘Maybe more than one’ and then she said, ‘Three. I would like to have three.’”
Rihanna performing during the halftime show Dave Shopland/Shutterstock
Rihanna, meanwhile, opened up to Essence in September 2019 about what an “incredible example” her mom, Monica Braithwaite — who was married to Fenty for over a decade before their split in 2002 — was of parenthood.
“I’m a Black woman. I came from a Black woman, who came from a Black woman, who came from a Black woman and I’m going to give birth to a Black woman. It’s a no-brainer. That’s who I am. It’s the core of who I am in spirit and DNA,” the Battleship actress told the outlet at the time. “My mother [showed me] how to fight through obstacles in life. I’m sure her mom taught her that and that’s how I’m going to be. We are impeccable, we’re special and the world is going to have to deal with that.”
While the “Diamonds” songstress has a strong bond with her mother, she’s faced her fair share of ups and downs with her dad over the years.
In 2019, Rihanna sued her father with claims that he was capitalizing on her business empire, Fenty Beauty, with his talent development company, Fenty Entertainment. The “Work” artist alleged that her father was profiting off the reputation of her beauty line and her other trademarked Fenty business ventures.
Rihanna also claimed that Ronald tried to file a trademark for Fenty boutique hotels and that he and a business partner falsely claimed to be her representatives to set up a 15-stop, $15 million Latin American tour for her in December 2017.
At the time, Ronald told OK! he had no knowledge of the lawsuit. “She is? Suing me? Why would she sue me? It’s my name!” he told the outlet. “She’s never going to sue me — I’ll have to fight it!”
In September 2021, however, Rihanna filed to dismiss the case — just a few weeks before the two were set to meet in court.
Despite their rocky relationship, Ronald told TMZ that he couldn’t be more thrilled for his daughter’s happiness and success — and hopes she and the “Good for You” artist will tie the knot in the near future.
“I don’t know if she’s going to have a wedding but I would like her to have a wedding, to be honest,” he said. “Make it official.”