ASAP Rocky’s Gun Trial Weighing ‘Heavy’ on His and Rihanna’s Minds as They Try for Baby No. 3

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are very much in love and trying for baby No. 3 , but they’re dreading the rapper’s gun charges trial and it’s making things worrisome as the court date quickly approaches, a source exclusively tells Life & Style .

“Rocky’s lawyers have pushed this case off as long as they can, but there’s no way to avoid a trial and he’s facing the very real prospect of jail time. As confident as he may be, it weighs very heavy on their minds and makes life very difficult for them,” the insider says of the “L$D” rapper, 35, and the “Diamonds” hitmaker, 36.

“Rihanna is never one to let anyone see her sweat, but her close friends know she’s terrified that the worst could happen ,” the source continues. “She’s not letting the fear of Rocky getting locked up stop her from trying for a baby. If anything, she wants to make it happen even more because God forbid he does do time, at least she’ll have the baby.”

The insider adds that Rihanna will stay by her longtime partner’s side and support him no matter the outcome of his trial.

“She has his back and insists he’s innocent and that she’ll do whatever she needs to help him, even if that means showing up in court and testifying. And she’s very clear she’ll wait for him no matter how long it takes, but it’s still pretty gut wrenching and stressful,” the source says. “She’s not even able to make many long-term plans because they don’t know the outcome of this. They’re doing the best they can to just live as if the best will happen, but no doubt this is causing them both to lose sleep with the worry of it all.”

In November 2023, a Los Angeles judge ruled that there was enough evidence for Rocky to stand trial on charges that he fired a gun at a former friend and collaborator Terell Ephron on the street near a hotel in Hollywood in 2021. The ruling came at a preliminary hearing where the rapper pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, AP News reported.

Rocky faces up to 24 years in prison if he is convicted on all charges, according to prosecutors.

During the preliminary hearing, Ephron testified that he and Rocky had been friends since childhood and belonged to the same group of musicians and artists at their high school. However, their relationship took a turn and led to the shooting incident on November 6, 2021. Ephron claimed that Rocky pulled a gun on him and later fired shots at him, which grazed Ephron’s knuckles.

“We’re not disappointed, not surprised, we expected to go to trial, we’ve been planning for trial all along,” Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopina , said after the hearing, per AP . “Rocky is going to be vindicated when all this is said and done, without question.”

In May, Rocky received a trial date of October 21.

Rocky and Rihanna already share sons RZA, whom they welcomed in May 2022, and Riot, whom they welcomed they August 2023. Fans have speculated recently that the couple was planning for baby No. 3, and the “Umbrella” singer addressed the rumors with a hilarious quip.

“Can I get my six-pack back first?” she told E! News . “I don’t think I ever had one but still.”