Rihanna has awkward reunion with Drake

Rihanna endured an awkward reunion with ex-boyfriend Drake at a children’s birthday party in Los Angeles on Sunday (04.09.17).

The 29-year-old beauty came face-to-face with her former flame for the first time since his brief fling with Jennifer Lopez, and Drake reportedly made a concerted effort to avoid the Bajan star at the bash.

Instead, the ‘Hotline Bling’ hitmaker – who split from Rihanna in October last year, after declaring his love for her at the MTV VMAs earlier in 2016 – focused his attention on one of his friend’s children, according to The Sun newspaper.

Drake admitted back in August that he had been "in love" with Rihanna for years.

Presenting the ‘Diamonds’ singer with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, he said: "She’s someone I’ve been in love with since I was 22 years old. She’s one of my best friends in the world. All my adult life, I’ve looked up to her, even though she’s younger than me.

"She’s a living, breathing legend in our industry, ladies and gentleman, the recipient of the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award for 2016, Rihanna."

And even since their split, Drake has claimed he has retained a lot of "love" and "respect" for Rihanna.

The 30-year-old rapper heaped praise on her during a live show in Dublin, Ireland, in February, which also happened to coincide with Rihanna’s 29th birthday.

He said on stage: "It’s somebody’s birthday today – somebody I have a lot of love for and a lot of respect for.

"So, instead of singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ though, we just going to do this in Dublin. Instead of singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ we’re going to set it off just like this…"

The Grammy award-winning rapper then launched into a performance of Rihanna’s hit single ‘Work’, which the pair collaborated on.