SOS: Rihanna fans in meltdown following rumoured split from Saudi billionaire

The pop superstar-turned-fashion mogul was in a relationship with Hassan Jameel for nearly three years, with their status coming into the public spotlight after the pair were spotted kissing in a swimming pool while sipping champagne in 2017.

The pictures, which were shared online, triggered frenzy in the ultra-conservative Saudi kingdom, where relationships out of wedlock are prohibited and considered taboo.

The 31-year-old billionaire Jameel is a senior member of the family-owned Abdul Latif Jameel conglomerate business, which owns distribution rights to sell Toyota cars in Saudi Arabia and other neighbouring countries.

News of the deep-pocketed pair could came as a shock for fans, especially those who had prematurely expected to hear wedding bells after it emerged that the couple were spending time with Jameel's family over the Muslim Eid festival.

Rihanna's legions of fans were sent into a spin when rare photos emerged of the pop superstar blissfully cosying up to Jameel on holiday in Italy in June.

The popstar's astute Muslim fans were quick to note that they were vacationing over the Eid holiday with his family, sending tongues wagging about how serious their relationship has become and whether we will hear any wedding bells soon; the Islamic way, of course.

Read More: Is kissing Rihanna haram? Cleric condemns Riri's new Saudi boyfriend over 'fornication' photos

The couple were papped as they ate lunch with his family on the Italian island of Capri. The 31-year-old singer looked positively smitten as she cuddled up to the 30-year-old business heir before leaving the restaurant on a private boat.

Celeb gossip supremo Perez Hilton was one of the first to point out that the family-focused vacay meant "it's serious!".

While others shared photos of the family fun, some were convinced the couple have already got married, as Jameel's frolicking with the S&M singer out of wedlock would not be seen as permissible in his native Saudi Arabia.

The Barbadian singer, also known by her last name Fenty, equally sent tongues wagging when she starred in a glamorous photoshoot, her head covered in a sleek black hijab, outside the Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque complex.

Unfortunately the mosque authorities were less impressed and asked her to leave for posing for "inappropriate" pictures outside the world's largest place of Islamic worship.

The beauty icon has been notoriously private about her relationships ever since her widely publicised violent assault at the hands of her ex, RnB singer Chris Brown.

"I used to feel guilty about taking personal time, but I also think I never met someone who was worth it before," she said about her relationship in an interview with Vogue in 2018, without mentioning Hassan by name.

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