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Women supporting women—we love to see it!
During an appearance on Monday’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Natalie Portman, 43 — who finalized her divorce from her husband Benjamin Millepied, 47, in February — spoke about meeting Rihanna, 36, at Paris Fashion Week in January.
Portman expressed, “I think every woman going through a divorce should get to have Rihanna say to her that she’s a bad b**ch.”
In the wholesome interaction shared by Bustle on Instagram back in January, the two superstars embraced each other, and Portman told the singer, “I love you!”
“I am a f***ing fan,” Rihanna replied, adding that the V for Vendetta actor is “one of the hottest b**ches in Hollywood.”
“I’m going to faint,” Portman told Rihanna. “I’m going to black out.”
The Oscar-winner further explained to Fallon that the empowering statement from the Grammy winner was “exactly what [she] needed” while splitting from her husband of more than a decade. “It was a formative moment in my life.”
The late-night show host celebrated the moment by giving Portman a standing ovation and saying, “That’s a big deal.”
Portman filed for divorce last July, and it was finalized in February in France, where she and Millepied, whom she married in 2012 two years after meeting on the set of her hit 2010 film Black Swan (on which he served as choreographer), had been living. They also lived there with their children: son Aleph, 13, and daughter Amalia, 7.
But according to an exclusive with PEOPLE, they confirmed in March that she and her husband of 11 years, Millepied, had officially divorced after quietly separating eight months prior.
Prior, the Black Swan star had only ever commented on the public speculation surrounding their marriage, telling Vanity Fair in February: “It’s terrible, and I have no desire to contribute to it.” She was also reportedly seen stepping out repeatedly without her wedding ring.
A friend of the couple then told PEOPLE in March regarding the pair’s divorce, “It was initially really tough for her, but her friends rallied around her and helped get her through the worst of it.”
“Natalie is coming out of a really tough and painful year but she’s come out the other side of it stronger and is finding joy in her family, friends and work,” the source added.
