Singer Rihanna says her brief romance with rapper Drake didn't work out because she was still trying to come to terms with being assaulted by Chris Brown when she met him.

The "Rude Boy" singer dated the Canadian hip-hop star for a short time in 2009 after meeting him in May of that year, but she admits she was too fragile emotionally after being assaulted by her ex-lover Chris just a few months earlier to get involved in a serious relationship, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"I definitely was attracted to Drake, but I think it is what it is - it was what it was. We didn't want to take it any further," she said.

"It was at a really fragile time in my life, so I just didn't want to get too serious with anything or anyone at that time," she added.