Rihanna had a touching reunion with a man who made a big difference in her life when she was a kid: her school gym teacher Roddy Estwick. Estwick was in England, serving as an assistant coach for the West Indies cricket team as they played against Sri Lanka in the ICC World Cup tournament. Rihanna came to watch the game and teared up seeing Estwick again. Their reunion was filmed, so everyone can take in just how emotional it was.
They hugged, and Rihanna shared a shot herself on her Instagram Story with Estwick. She wrote a gushing caption about him. 'My mentor, my champ, my school teacher, my first 'Jay Brown' #MrEstwick! You made my day!' she wrote, as noted by Complex.
RiRi also spoke to Barbados Today about Estwick, noting that while the team lost, she was still proud of them and grateful to see her Combermere School teacher. 'I love this man. I came here to see the match and was cheering West Indies to a victory,' Rihanna said.
'They played great, but we just didn’t make it. But I also wanted to see Mr. Estwick. He made a lasting impact on my life, and he really offered great advice to me and many others when we were at school at Combermere. I just wanted to let everyone know what he meant to me in my development and what he did for us back at school in Barbados.'
Barbados Today reports that Rihanna was invited to the match by Philip Spooner, the West Indies media manager.
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
