There was a brief respite from the usual Twitter sludge late Tuesday, when a set of photos emerged of Rihanna enjoying herself in a pool with a—to use the preferred tabloid term—“mystery man.” The pictures, per TMZ, were taken in Spain, where it “appears she’s vacationing with him” (we love TMZ hedging here, as if this could potentially be a work-related endeavor or something instead of purely recreational). Anyway, the two are, as TMZ puts it, “all over each for sure.” (In fact, that we are even seeing these photos feels a tad uncomfortable—this is almost certainly not a moment they were expecting to be public.)
It didn’t take long for the Daily Mail to uncover the identity of the man. He is reportedly a Saudi businessman named Hassan Jameel, the deputy president and vice chairman of the family business Abdul Latif Jameel, which is, according to the Daily Mail, one of the world’s largest companies. (Hassan will eventually inherit the family’s $1.5 billion fortune, allegedly.) Sounds pretty good!
The Sun says this “relationship is the real deal” and that Rihanna has “told friends she’s in love with him” but we do not feel confident The Sun is texting with Melissa Forde about Rihanna’s emotional state at the moment, so we are going to take that with a grain of salt (to be washed down with one of the two glasses of wine Rihanna and Jameel have waiting for them poolside).
But from a tabloid standpoint, what will likely be the wrinkle to be played with here is that Jameel was reportedly once involved with Naomi Campbell. And by “involved” we mean they were, in the words of the Daily Mail, and as can be seen in corroborating photographs, “spotted looking affectionate” in July of 2016, at a festival in London. That Campbell and Rihanna—once close—have recently appeared to be somewhat distant may or may not be related.
In the meantime—while we wait to see what is in store for Rihanna and Jameel—let us all find our own metaphorical poolside glass of wine in Spain. Rihanna, she always knows how to set the aspirational bar, doesn’t she?
