The rapper, 35, will face trial in early January after being accused of firing a semiautomatic handgun at former friend A$AP Relli. Prosecutors said Rocky – whose real name is Rakim Mayers – pointed the handgun at Terell Ephron, otherwise known as A$AP Relli, during an altercation two years ago. After pleading not guilty in April 2022, the rapper has maintained his innocence – but with enough evidence to go to trial, a guilty verdict could see Rocky face up to nine years in prison.

Opening up about the thought of raising the couple’s sons RZA, one, and Riot Rose, four months, alone, our source shares, “Rihanna’s trying to stay calm and listen to the lawyers, who have promised they’ll keep him out of jail. But it’s pretty hard when everyone had assured her this wouldn’t even go to trial. He’s facing nine years, and she’s terrified right now.”

“If the worst happens and they want to make an example of him, she’ll be raising her two kids alone,” the source shares, adding, “It’s a total nightmare and not something Rihanna ever thought she’d face. She’s so stressed out and losing sleep over this.”The pair were first linked back in 2012 after performing together at the VMAS, but it wasn’t until 2020 that the Diamonds singer said Rocky was able to make it out of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQppzdYQbTU&t=532s“the friend zone”. By May 2022, the loved-up pair had welcomed their first son RZA, before Rihanna revealed they were expecting baby number two, proudly displaying her bump during the Super Bowl 2023 halftime show.

But a spanner was thrown in the works last year, after police took the rapper into custody over the alleged shooting. It was reported the cops arrested Rocky at a LAX Airport, where he was returning from a Barbados trip with heavily pregnant Rihanna.GET THE BEST CELEB INTERVIEWS IN HEAT MAGAZINE EACH WEEK

And while Rihanna is left worrying, we’re told that the rapper is also left wondering what his future might hold. “Of course, Rocky’s incredibly stressed out, too, right now,” the source shares.