Rihanna unlocks 'new levels' of love

Rihanna's pregnancy has "unlocked new levels of love and respect" in her.

The 'Diamonds' hitmaker - who is expecting her first child with A$AP Rocky - sent a special birthday message to her mother, Monica Braithwaite, on Tuesday (05.04.22), and admitted expecting her own baby has given her a new appreciation for everything her mom has done for her.

She wrote on Instagram: "Today is my Queen's birthday!!! Being on the verge of motherhood, unlocked new levels of love and respect I have for my mommy in a way that I could never explain! She's the true MVP and I wanna give her her flowers every second I can! Love you mumzzzz!!! Happy Birthday! We gon celebrate on da link up!(sic)"

The 34-year-old star recently admitted "everything is a challenge" now she's in the later stages of her pregnancy and she's grateful make-up can help her feel like a "real person".

She said: "There's a pregnancy glow. There's also those days, girl. Especially in the third trimester where you wake up and you're like, oh, do I have to get dressed?

"Make-up for sure helps you feel like a real person. I just focused a lot on moisturizing and on contouring. The face gets a little round and chubby. The nose starts to spread.

"Everything is a challenge, from getting dressed and how you're going to do your makeup. But I like challenges. I like things that force me to be creative and create in new ways."

The 'We Found Love' hitmaker is a huge 'Real Housewives' fan, and she pointed to Heather Dubrow and Teresa Guidice's respective approaches to motherhood.

She praised Heather's ability to be "so chic while being a mom", and letting her kids "be who they are".

She added: "And that's really inspiring to me. But Teresa from 'Jersey' does not play about her kids.

"She will flatten you about those kids. And that resonates with me a lot because I feel like that's the type of mom I'm going to be. Psycho about it."

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