WATCH: Rihanna Reveals To Oprah That She Still Loves Chris Brown

20 August 2012

Much has been made in the media about the exact nature of Chris Brown and Rihanna's relationship -- and now Ri has taken the opportunity to clear the air in a recent interview with Oprah.

The interview aired last night (19 August) in American as a part of Oprah's New Chapter -- and saw the usually cagey Rihanna opened up about her feelings for her ex.

When pressed by Oprah about her relationship with Chris, Rihanna denied that she was secretly in a relationship with him -- but did share that the pair have a 'very close friendship'.

Rihanna told Oprah, "We love each other and we probably always will, and that's not anything that we're going to try to change," explaining that whenever she sees Chris, "it's awkward because I still love him...my stomach drops and I have to maintain this poker face and not let it get to the outer part of me. I have to maintain that and suppress it."

She added, "I think he was the love of my life. He was my first love and I see that he loved me the same way...I truly love him--the main thing for me is he's at peace. I'm not at peace if he's not happy or he's still lonely. I care. It actually matters that he finds that peace."

An emotional Rihanna also expressed that she found the power to forgive Brown for his brutal assault in 2009 through repairing her relationship with her father, who had been violent toward her mother.

Rihanna said, "All kinds of emotions started happening after that. All kinds of things started making sense. I thought I hated Chris and I realized it was love that was tarnished. It looked like hate because it was ugly, it was angry, it was inflamed, it was tainted and I realized that what it was is, I have to forgive him, because I cared about him still. And the minute I let go of that, I started living again."

Check out part of the interview below and tell us what you think!