Rihanna , 21, said Thursday that she regrets going back to ex-boyfriend Chris Brown after he left her bruised and battered during a February assault, warning other women facing domestic violence to not let themselves become blinded by love.
“It’s completely normal to go back. You start lying to yourself,” the singer told “Good Morning America” in her first TV interview since the beating. “I’ll say that to any young girl who is going through domestic violence: ‘Don’t react off of love.’ ”
Brown, 20, was arrested Feb. 8, hours after he was accused of beating Rihanna after the couple attended a pre-Grammy Awards party. He later pleaded guilty to felony assault.
Rihanna, who is no longer with Brown, said she was ashamed to go back to him after the attack.
“That’s embarrassing – that’s the type of person I fell in love with. So far in love, so unconditional, that I went back,” she said. “That’s not what I want to teach people.”
A Los Angeles police detective described a brutal attack, stating Brown hit, choked and bit Rihanna and tried to push her from the car. A photo of her bruised face was circulated on the Internet.
In an interview with Glamour magazine, she said about the leaked photo, “I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it’s my life.”
On “Good Morning America,” Rihanna said she realized that, as a role model to women, her returning to Brown sent the wrong message.
“When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result in some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part,” she said.
“I didn’t realize how much of an impact I had on these girls’ lives until that happened,” she added. “It was a wake-up call for me, big time.”
ABC will air more of her interview on today’s “Good Morning America” and tonight’s “20/20.”
Brown also will give his perspective in an interview today on MTV.
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