Rihanna’s Baby Bump – A Master in Making Pregnancy Sexy

From morning sickness to back aches and everything in between, sometimes pregnancy can feel gross. But once again, Rihanna is here to prove that when you look good, you feel good, and pregnancy doesn’t have to feel gross — it can be sexy. 

In a culture that has come to expect pregnant women to dress in conservative, “appropriate” clothing that should completely cover the baby bump, Rihanna has become a pro at flipping the script, stepping out in front of cameras unafraid to bare all. 

The 37-year-old Grammy winner and beauty mogul has redefined pregnancy style with her bump unbashfully bare. She doesn’t just put it on full display; she makes it the star of the show. With her latest Met Gala look, Rihanna turned a pregnancy reveal into a moment of pure glitz and glamour, reminding audiences that pregnancy isn’t about hiding — it’s about commanding attention.

 

Rihanna announced she would be expecting her third child with her partner A$AP ROCKY earlier this month on the steps of The Met in an all-black suit dress by Marc Jacobs. After arriving fashionably late at 10 p.m., the Fenty Beauty founder wore a cropped jacket, bustier bodysuit and pinstriped maxi skirt, which she topped off with a sleek, wide-brim hat and a burgundy polka-dotted cravat. 

The look was fitted around her stomach, and when paired with the low-rise skirt, the bump was on full display. And the internet was not calm about it. 

“RIHANNA IS PREGNANT AGAIN OMFG,” one user wrote on X. 

“Rihanna showing up to the Met Gala with her baby bump will always be iconic ,” wrote another. 

And iconic it was. But it wasn’t a one-time statement — it was the latest in a history of looks that have redefined pregnancy fashion. Instead of conservative and comfy, Rihanna shoots for bold and daring. With every look, she is unapologetically sexy, and she’s going to make sure you see it too. 

Whether it’s a low-hanging necklace to accentuate the bare bump at a Gucci show, a sheer skirt flowing over her stomach at Paris Fashion Week or a metal chain wrapped around her stomach in an all-silver two-piece look for the launch of Fenty Beauty at Ulta, these looks all have one thing in common: they all center around celebrating the pregnant body. They’re not here to cover it up.

Rihanna has made it clear that she doesn’t dress “around” her pregnancy. Instead, she styles it. With each outfit, she turns her bump into the centrepiece of the look. It’s never something to be covered, and the concept of modesty is shamelessly thrown out the window. Rihanna manipulates pregnancy fashion to be on her terms — bold, alluring and unconcerned with expectations. 

Although Rihanna isn’t the first celebrity to make pregnancy fashionable, she is arguably the first to make it sexually empowering. Hundreds of stars across the years have styled their baby bumps for red carpets and large-scale events (think Beyoncè’s red gown at the Wearable Art Gala or Cardi B’s white dress on her Saturday Night Live performance), but Rihanna’s pregnancy style has reshaped expectations by actively challenging the idea that sexy has an expiration date — or a nine-month hiatus. 

“I’m hoping that we were able to redefine what’s considered ‘decent’ for pregnant women,” Rihanna told Vogue during her 2022 pregnancy. “My body is doing incredible things right now, and I’m not going to be ashamed of that. This time should feel celebratory, because why should you be hiding your pregnancy?”

Her take on pregnancy fashion has certainly not gone unnoticed, with people flooding social media platforms with awe-filled comments each time she steps out in a confident, unapologetic look. However, her style is more than just something for people to gawk at online; it changes both how society views mothers and how mothers view themselves. 

“For Black expectant mothers in particular, it stood as an awe-inspiring act of defiance,” Chioma Nnadi wrote in Vogue. “At a time when the joy of bringing a child into the world has too often been overshadowed by one geopolitical crisis after another, her unbridled feminine power was nothing short of life-affirming.”

Rihanna’s style can feel bold, risky and seductive as it forges forward, pushing boundaries in the norm of maternity fashion. Her pregnancy fashion doesn’t even feel like it’s pregnancy fashion — it’s just fashion. It’s just undeniably her, and why does that have to change now that there’s a plus one by her side? Well, not literally by her side. 

But at the end of the day, maybe it’s not the look that’s sexy; it’s the confidence. With every low-rise skirt, unbuttoned jacket and uncovered baby bump, Rihanna screams the message that you don’t have to pause your sense of power or sensuality for your pregnancy. Instead, those nine months give you a new way to own it. 

Above all, Rihanna teaches us that being sexy isn’t something you lose when you become a mother. It’s something you redefine.