Rihanna has brought the world many gifts. She's an influential musician, actress, cosmetics and lingerie mogul, billionaire and national hero of her native Barbados.

And now she's poised to add another title to that list: parent. The global superstar, 33, is expecting her first child, with rapper A$AP Rocky.

Photos of the couple walking hand in hand in New York City are making the rounds on Twitter, with news of their announcement spreading like wildfire across social media and celebrity-focused media outlets.

Celebrity photographer Miles Diggs, who goes by Diggzy, posted a close-up shot of Rihanna's baby bump on Instagram on Monday, writing "SHE IS !" Her many admirers (including fellow celebrities) sounded off excitedly in the comments.

The power couple's exact relationship timeline is unclear, but they've been friends for nearly a decade and reportedly went official in the fall of 2020. They made their red carpet debut at the Met Gala in September, which made headlines while simultaneously being very casual.

"We weren't even sure if we were going to go, so separately we were planning our looks just to be prepared," Rihanna later told E! News. "We ended up getting ready together and going, and I didn't even realize we were on a carpet together until somebody said, 'You're making your debut,' and I was like, 'Oh, s***.' "

A$AP Rocky spoke about their relationship in an interview with GQ in May 2021 in which he called Rihanna "the love of my life" and "the One."

When asked whether he was ready to be a father at some point, he said he thought he would be an "incredible, remarkably, overall amazing dad."

"I would have a very fly child," he said. "Very."

For her part, Rihanna told British Vogue in May 2020 that she wants to have three or four kids and would do it on her own if she didn't meet the right person.

"I feel like society makes me want to feel like, 'Oh, you got it wrong ...' They diminish you as a mother if there's not a dad in your kids' lives," she said. "But the only thing that matters is happiness — that's the only healthy relationship between a parent and a child. That's the only thing that can raise a child truly, is love."

This story originally appeared in the Morning Edition live blog.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.