From Rihanna to Oprah, these celebrities all seemed much happier single after leaving abusive relationship

When you think of Rihanna, the singer, songwriter and new mother, you think of a woman with confidence and power. She is, after all, the second-best selling female music artist of all time.

Her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, 13 American Music Awards (including the Icon Award), 12 Billboard Music Awards, six Guinness World Records, and the NAACP's President's Award.

Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2018.

All this and yet Rihanna was once in a relationship that was incredibly negative.

On February 8, 2009, Rihanna's scheduled performance at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards was cancelled. Reports surfaced that her boyfriend at the time, Chris Brown, had physically assaulted her. He turned himself into the police and was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats.

On March 5, 2009, Brown was charged with assault and making criminal threats.

Due to a leaked photograph from the police department obtained by TMZ.com, which revealed that Rihanna had sustained extensive visible injuries, an organisation known as STOParazzi proposed "Rihanna's Law", which, if enacted, would "deter employees of law enforcement agencies from releasing photos or information that exploits crime victims."

Back in 2009, Rihanna spoke over the whole incident with Vanity Fair over Chris Brown. “Well, I just never understood that, like how the victim gets punished over and over. It’s in the past, and I don’t want to say, ‘Get over it,’ because it’s a very serious thing that is still relevant; it’s still real.”

The Diamonds singer continued, “A lot of women, a lot of young girls, are still going through it. A lot of young boys too. It’s not a subject to sweep under the rug, so I can’t just dismiss it like it wasn’t anything, or I don’t take it seriously. But, for me, and anyone who’s been a victim of domestic abuse, nobody wants to even remember it. Nobody even wants to admit it. So to talk about it and say it once, much less 200 times, is like… I have to be punished for it? It didn’t sit well with me.”

She concluded, “And if you put up with it, maybe you are agreeing that you [deserve] this, and that’s when I finally had to say, ‘Uh-oh, I was stupid thinking I was built for this.’ Sometimes you just have to walk away.”

And walk away she did. Rihanna has welcomed a baby boy with her partner, American rapper, ASAP Rocky. The pair started dating in early 2021.

Another celebrity we think of as powerful and commands respect is Oprah Winfrey. The American talk show host, TV producer, actress, author and philanthropist is sometimes ranked as the most influential woman in the world. She's a billionaire thanks to her business acumen.

After listening to the actress and producer Amy Schumer tell her story, Oprah revealed her own abusive relationship in her 20's where she says her boyfriend once slammed a door on her hand.

Like many other victims of abuse Oprah also says she had a moment of clarity where she was quite literally able to see herself and her relationship for what it was. The anonymous partner of the young Oprah had knocked her over in front of a hallway mirror. "And I saw myself. And I started to cry for this woman that I had allowed myself [to become]," she revealed during her chat with Schumer. 

Oprah also told the story of a cousin locked in an abusive relationship and admits she deluded herself into thinking it couldn't happen to her, "I will never be that woman," she emphasised, adding, "And I held myself superior to that." But Winfrey goes on to conclude the true takeaway: "There is no that kind of woman." 

Reese Witherspoon is an American actress and producer. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2006 and 2015, and Forbes listed her among the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2019 and 2021. In 2021, Forbes named her the world's richest actress with an estimated net worth of $400 million.

This did not stop Reese from being in a bad relationship that she needed to get out of.

The Legally Blonde star told Oprah for OWN in 2018 that the hardest thing she's ever done is leaving a psychologically and verbally abusive relationship.

Much like Tina Turner, who was unable to extricate herself until Ike Turner's infidelity was rubbed in her nose, Witherspoon felt equally trapped until she reached her own breaking point, "A line got drawn in the sand, and it got crossed, and my brain just switched ... I just couldn't go any further."

Witherspoon says finally standing up for herself changed her in a fundamental way because of how badly the abuse had "damage[d] her self-esteem." 

We think these women are incredible for speaking out about their experiences and we know that many people are still in situations they need to break free from.

If you need help to leave an abusive relationship you can contact Refuge on: The freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247

You can also contact the government website.

Women's Aid are available for help, as well. You can email for guidance and also be put in touch with other survivors.