Even after being caught making out with the "One Dance" rapper, Rihanna maintained that they were just friends for years. In November 2009, she spoke about her relationship with Drake in an interview with Angie Martinez on Hot 97 (via YouTube). When asked if there was any truth to the rumors that she and Drake were together, the "S&M" singer responded, "No, me and Drake, we're friends, we're still friends actually."
Martinez continued to press, asking whether the singer had been checking Drake out, but Rihanna replied that she prefers "hot, older men." She did, however, admit to hanging out with the rapper a few times, but insisted that nothing more was going on. "I'm actually not dating," she said. "I just flirt."
If you didn't take Rihanna's word for it in 2009, Drake's dad Dennis Graham told TMZ a similar story in 2016, echoing that the relationship between the duo is nothing but platonic. "They're just friends," the rapper's dad insisted.
