Rihanna won't to cut Chris Brown out of her life

The singer is still in contact with Chris, despite the violent assault that destroyed their relationship in 2009, and rumour has it the former couple even still enjoy the occasional secret hook up.

Rihanna recently added her ex's voice to her song Birthday Cake, despite strict instructions from her management to sever all ties with him for publicity reasons.

"Her management banned her from reuniting with Chris, but she said she'll do whatever the hell she wants to," a source told the New York Post.

"Rihanna is rebelling. She says they have been working her too hard and she wants some time to herself. "They fear she'll secretly record an album with Brown, just to defy them," adds the source.

In a recent interview with Elle magazine, the singer commented on the negative public response to her friendship with her ex.

"People end up wasting their time on the blogs ranting away, and that's all right," she said, "because tomorrow I'm still going to be the same person. I'm still going to do what I want to do."

She added that the media frenzy surrounding the assault was in some ways liberating for her. "That was my opening … one less skeleton in the closet, one less burden, one less secret," she said. "Now you know that, so you can say what you want … I don't have anything to hide."