“I said to myself, ‘I’m never gonna date someone like my dad,’ ” Rihanna told Sawyer. “Never.”

The singer said her father was severely abusive to her mother in the past and hit her “numerous” times. She said she would unsuccessfully try to break up their fights, attempting to distract the pair by breaking glasses and dishes in the kitchen. The singer said her father even broke her mother’s nose.

Rihanna painted the picture of her and Brown’s early days together as filled with happiness. She said the “Forever” singer was her best friend but cautioned that falling in love with your best friend can be “scary.”

“The more in love we became, the more dangerous we became for each other, equally as dangerous,” she said, describing their relationship as an obsession.

She said on the night Brown assaulted her, she was happy and alcohol did not play a part in influencing his or her behavior.

Rihanna confirmed that a text message from a girl Brown had a previous relationship with was at the root of their argument that night. She said Brown lied about the message and that she would not let him off the hook. “He had his back against the wall,” she said.

The pair left a pre-Grammy party and soon found themselves arguing in a residential district in Brown’s rented Lamborghini.

“It escalated into him being violent toward me, and it was ugly,” she said, clearing her throat.

Rihanna confirmed to Sawyer information previously detailed in the police report. She said Brown punched her and bit her repeatedly. She said she was also choked, but not to the point of near unconsciousness, although she said she did have trouble breathing.

“All I kept thinking was, ‘When is it going to stop?’ ” she told Sawyer of the escalating violence.

She admitted Brown threatened to kill her, as well, but she told Sawyer he “was saying it to scare me.”

“At that point, I just didn’t know what could happen,” she continued. “He was clearly blacked out. There was no person when I looked at him. It was almost as if he had nothing to lose. He had so much to lose. But it was almost as if he had nothing to lose. It wasn’t the same person that says I loved you. It definitely wasn’t those eyes.”

“It was ugly,” she said. “I fended him off with my feet…but it was not like, it was not like a fight with each other. I just…I really just wanted it to stop,” she said.

Finally, Rihanna said, her screams prompted a to call the police.

“I was bleeding, I was swollen in the face,” she said. “So there was no way of me getting home, except for, my next option was to get out of the car and walk. Start walking in a gown, in a bloody face. So I really don’t know what my plan was.”

Rihanna briefly reunited with Brown in Miami approximately a month following the assault. She said she wanted to protect Brown, as fans were turning against him. But Rihanna was conflicted even as she attempted to reassure Brown.

“Everything about him annoyed me,” she said.

He asked her if Rihanna hated him, she recalled. She said she didn’t, but she actually resented him. According to her, this was the point where she realized she had to end their relationship.

Developmental psychologist Dr. Michelle Callahan told MTV News it’s important for victims to get to the point where they must recognize it’s time to leave.

“It’s important for young women to know this is not a sign of love,” she urged. “Violence, controlling behavior and abusive behavior is not love.”

Rihanna’s decision to return to Brown confused many once evidence of the assault became public.

“Even if Chris never hit me again, who is to say that their boyfriend won’t?” Rihanna said during the interview, calling her decision to reconcile with Brown “selfish.” “Who’s to say that they won’t kill these girls? These are young girls, and I just didn’t realize how much of an impact I had on these girls’ lives until that happened. It was a wake-up call.”

Sawyer asked Rihanna about the leaked image of her, battered and bruised, that appeared online after her assault. The singer said she doesn’t like seeing the image because of the bad memories it conjures.

“I get angry all over again every time I see it,” she said. “The whole thing plays out in my head, so I don’t like to see it.”

Brown has repeatedly emphasized that he still loves Rihanna and released a song after the incident called “Changed Man,” in which he apologized to his ex.

Rihanna, however, claims to have never heard the record. She said she still has feelings for Brown and wants him to be successful, but she seems to be struggling to comprehend her emotions, calling it an annoyance to still feel connected to him. She told Sawyer she was unsure if she could ever reunite with him.

“I can’t answer that question right now, ’cause you never know what the future holds,” she explained. “He was my best friend, the person I loved. We spent two years of our lives together.

“I don’t have a desire at all to be with him,” she added. “I don’t see how we could get back together. But I’m not God, so I can’t predict the future.”

She went on to add that there’s nothing she wants to hear from Brown at the moment.

Brown issued a statement to MTV News prior to Rihanna’s interview wishing her the best.

“I do appreciate her support and wish her the best,” he said. “I am extremely sorry for what I did, and I accept accountability for my actions.”

Rihanna, likewise, wished Brown the best and hoped he could work through his personal issues.

“I want him to accept this as a man would,” she said. “Accept the responsibility and find a way to not feel sorry for himself.”

Both artists seem poised to move past the dark moment in their lives.

“I’m glad it happed to me,” Rihanna said. ” ‘Cause now I can help young girls. [I would tell them] ‘Don’t react off of love.’ F love. Come out of the situation and look at it third-person and for what it really is. And then make your decision. ‘Cause love is so blind. It’s so blind.”

MTV

Interview thanks to Gaz from InsideNokiaMusic & WeArePopSlags:

“Amidst the whirling dervish of celebrity lifestyle I cast my nerves aside as I roll into the Roosevelt Hotel off Hollywood Boulevard for an interview with the formidable Pop force and surprisingly tall Rihanna… this is what she had to say.”

Gaz: Your first 2 abums had more of a Caribbean vibe to them and Good Girl Gone Bad was more pop – Any new style changes on Rated R?

Rihanna: Rated R in comparison to my previous albums is different, it’s very honest, the sound is darker, I didn’t want to make the same album that I did last time. Everyone expected me to make a similar album but I grew up a lot in the past two years. It’s different making an album at 21 because you speak about different things.

Gaz: I’ve been reading that some of the songs on Rated R have a rock influence – Is there anyone in Rock music that may have inspired this?

Rihanna: The new album is inspired by a lot of different songs like Hip Hop, there’s a lot of Bass and there’s a lot of Rock, I listen to a lot of Prodigy and Chase & Status, we actually worked with them on a lot of the production and they helped develop the new sound and we have collaborations on there, people like Slash, who is the ultimate Rock Star and the song happens to be called Rock Star 101.

Gaz: Are there any other exciting collaborations you can mention?

Rihanna: Yes, we worked with Young Jeezy on a song called Hard and we also worked with Will.i.am on one of my favourites on the record called Photographs, it’s a really really cool song.

Gaz: The launch party with Nokia on the 16th November in London is expected to be the world’s largest live streaming launch party, millions of fans from Finland to Italy, New york to Rome and Helsinki to Dubai can see you perform tracks from your new album – How does this feel?

Rihanna: It’s a live stream world wide which means everyone can watch it at the same time all over the world, live, all at once, which is exciting, it makes me nervous… because it’s not just the 6000 people in the venue but it’s millions of people across the world watching it all at once… it’s exciting though, it’s a big thing that everyone can see it, there’s no better way to launch an album.

Gaz: It’s being held in London as mentioned before – Is this city special to you in any way?

Rihanna: London is one of my favourite cities to go to in the world, it’s where I get most of my creative energy. We made a lot of the album in London actually, we took two big trips up there and spent some time each trip just figuring out the album. The first trip is when we really figured out what we wanted to do sound wise and lyrically, the second time we came back with some hits so I hold a very special place in my heart for London and this album, so it was only right that we had the launch party for the album there.

Gaz: Which city boasts the best audience in the world and why?

Rihanna: Is this a trick question? (laughs) I love performing anywhere, just for fans anywhere and that’s the good thing about this launch party, I’m not only doing it in one city, the entire world gets to see it at the same time so all my fans don’t have to feel left out, they can see it too and be a part of it.

Gaz: Do you interact with your fans a lot and are you looking forward to getting closer to them?

Rihanna: I spend a lot of time paying attention to my fans, what they like and how they grow with me. I pay attention to their comments on a lot of things, whether it be negative or positive. I want to keep them close with me and I want them to grow with me and the only way they’ll do that naturally is if the growth for me is natural.

Gaz: Your fashion sense is admired around the world – Have you found any new designers or trends you will be showcasing in your videos and live performances?

Rihanna: In the past few months I’ve done a lot of research in the fashion world because I wanted to work with a bunch of new designers that are kinda underground, people that aren’t the obvious and I found this guy Alexander Voltaire, his stuff is just so amazing, the colours are really beautiful and feminine but the structure is really strong, which I love.

Gaz: How would you describe your own fashion style?

Rihanna: My style is very edgy, very daring, I like to take risks, I hate to do the obvious. Style is all about creativity so I like to put things together in my own way.

Gaz: Have you got a special message for your fans?

Rihanna: I just want to thank you guys for all your support, sticking and waiting with me this entire time, but the wait is ova and just tune into nokia.com/rihanna to watch me perform live on the 16th, I can’t wait to see you guys there!

Source – RihannaDaily