Rihanna: Chris Brown and I Don't Have to Talk "Ever Again"

While Chris Brown has been losing his cool over questions about Rihanna, his pop-star ex keeps on proving that she's one strong woman. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Rihanna, 23, fearlessly answers questions about the aftermath of her abusive relationship with the 21-year-old Brown.

"I put my guard up so hard," says the singer, who was hospitalized after a beating from Brown on the night of the 2009 Grammys. "I didn't want people to see me cry. I didn't want people to feel bad for me. It was a very vulnerable time in my life, and I refused to let that be the image. I wanted them to see me as, 'I'm fine, I'm tough.' I put that up until it felt real."

Her refusal to play the victim is admirable, but that doesn't mean fans have forgiven Brown. In fact, Rihanna sparked a wave of Twitter outrage in February when she lifted her restraining order against her ex. But Rihanna says she wasn't doing it as a gesture of friendship; it was just professional courtesy.

"That's my decision. It doesn't mean we're gonna make up, or even talk again," the singer clarifies. "We don't have to talk ever again in my life."

"I just didn't want to make it more difficult for (Brown) professionally," she explains. "What he did was a personal thing -- it had nothing to do with his career. Saying he has to be a hundred feet away from me, he can't perform at awards shows -- that definitely made it difficult for him."

Rihanna, who will soon make her film debut in the upcoming board-game-based movie Battleship, hasn't let the incident scare her away from relationships. When Rolling Stone asks about the personal meaning behind her single "S&M," she says that she enjoys getting naughty in the bedroom.

"Being submissive in the bedroom is really fun," she says. "You get to be a little lady, to have somebody be macho and in charge of your s***. That's fun to me... I like to be spanked. Being tied up is fun. I like to keep it spontaneous."

Okay, perhaps a little TMI -- but it's great that Rihanna is taking control of her love life, and that she recognizes the major difference between consensual play and non-consensual violence. Clearly, Rihanna has learned from her past and moved on. Hopefully Brown can do the same.

Blake Lively Anna Faris Hilary Duff Tamala Jones Michelle Obama Ciara