Natalie Portman has always fiercely maintained her privacy despite being one of the most famous people in the world. She once explained why she changed her name when she started acting at 13 years old, and has made a huge effort to separate her public and private life. However, the May/December star’s relationship with Benjamin Millepied – who she was married to for over a decade – was thrust into the spotlight last year when she filed for divorce.
Although Natalie has refrained from sharing any details about their split, she has spoken about how meeting Rihanna as the divorce was being finalised was a ‘formative moment’ in her life.
Many will remember that Natalie and Rihanna bumped into one another at the Christian Dior show during Paris Fashion Week in January this year, and the clip of them fan-girling over one another quickly went viral (and for good reason, it’s amazing). During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Natalie described what happened when she met Rihanna and explained that she was just as excited by the interaction as the rest of the world. In fact, she even went on to say that Rihanna’s comments were exactly what she needed to hear in the midst of her divorce.
She told Jimmy Fallon: “It was an amazing experience for me. I think every woman going through a divorce should get to have Rihanna say to her that she’s a bad bitch. It was exactly what I needed.”
The pair then watched the viral clip, before Natalie added: “It was a formative moment in my life.”
In the video of them meeting for the first time in Paris, Rihanna can be heard telling Natalie that she’s ‘one of the hottest bitches in Hollywood forever’, before adding: “I don’t get excited about anybody but I f***ing love you.”
Brilliant.