Who Is Diggzy, The Man Behind The Rihanna Pregnancy Reveal Pic?

Whether splashed on a front page or shared on Instagram, by now you will have probably seen the images of Rihanna debuting her baby bump. Last month, the internet went into meltdown at the photos of a pregnant Rihanna walking hand-in-hand with her boyfriend, rapper A$AP Rocky. Despite New York City’s freezing temperatures, Ri showed off her stomach – adorned with a 1980’s Christian Lacroix necklace – by keeping most of the buttons on her vintage 1996 Chanel coat undone.

But, unlike regular A-list pregnancy reveals – which tend to happen with a portrait shoot posted directly to Instagram, Beyoncé-style – Rihanna did things her own way. An expert at controlling (and monetising) her image, the news was broken with staged paparazzi pictures, released by photo agency Shutterstock.

The man behind the lens was 27-year-old Miles Diggs – aka Diggzy – a so-called celebrity street-style photographer who has managed to stand out among a crowd of faceless, jostling paparazzi. Not only does Diggzy have an Instagram account with hundreds of thousands of followers but, crucially, he has brilliant relationships with his subjects – even if he’s only shooting them for a few seconds. ‘He’s renowned and has become really trusted by certain celebs – mainly because he’s so nice,’ a Hollywood source told Grazia of Diggzy, who signed an exclusive deal with Shutterstock to release his street-style photographs last year. ‘He does a huge amount of the set-up shots – the pictures A-listers want out there, but they want to have an element of control over them. He doesn’t give away their location or leak the story.’

It makes sense that Rihanna and A$AP were able to trust Diggzy as, speaking to Grazia, he says he has grown close to the singer over the last 10 years. ‘She is truly one of a kind,’ the photographer says, ‘the biggest heart on the planet.’ Rihanna’s hair was styled by her hairstylist Yusef Williams, her make-up was done by chief artist at Fenty (Rihanna’s make-up brand), Priscilla Ono, and the necklace was sourced by one of the singer’s stylists, Nini Nguyen, from the vintage dealership Archive Vintage.

But Diggzy maintains that the actual shoot involved ‘very little’ planning. ‘I think in general we just wing it every time,’ he says. ‘That’s part of the beauty. Rihanna is no-frills and extremely down to earth. It just further proves she doesn’t need a 30-person production to create a vision.’

It’s lucky it didn’t take long to get the pictures as, with Rihanna being so famous, the shoot could have been foiled at any moment. ‘Avoiding being recognised was the toughest part, especially in the heart of Harlem,’ he adds. ‘But when it’s Rihanna, she gets the shot perfectly in seconds.’

Photos aside, though, Rihanna and A$AP’s relationship was a longer game. The pair were friends first, often collaborating on work projects – as early as 2012 they performed together at the VMAs, and in 2013 the rapper supported Ri on her world tour, while she featured in his Fashion Killa video. The singer was also thought to be a huge support following A$AP’s assault arrest in 2019. But it wasn’t until Rihanna’s three-year relationship with Toyota heir Hassan Jamel came to an end, in January 2020, that their relationship started. ‘Unlike a lot of guys who have fallen for Ri – Drake being the most obvious case – he built a friendship first and always hoped things might develop,’ a source tells Grazia.

Following the reveal, there have been reports that A$AP and Rihanna are set to tie the knot in Barbados, where Rihanna’s family is based. But our source adds, they have other things on their mind right now. ‘They’re just focusing on a healthy pregnancy and enjoying this period together.’

Main image: Robert Kamau / Getty