Rihanna has spoken for the first time since she was assaulted by former boyfriend Chris Brown, admitting she is “embarrassed” that she ever loved the R ‘n’ B star.

The ‘Umbrella’ singer told US journalist Diane Sawyer in an interview on ‘Good Morning America’ today: “I fell in love with this person. That’s embarrassing.”

Rihanna – who rekindled her romance with Chris following the attack – also admitted it took “eight or nine attempts” to leave the relationship with Chris, and said she completely understands why women in abusive relationships find it so difficult to leave.

“It’s pretty easy to go back,” she said. “You start lying to yourself. The physical wounds go away. You want this thing to go away. This is a memory you don’t want to ever have again.”

However, Rihanna said she was determined not to go back to Chris again because  she didn’t want any other impressionable young women in abusive relationships to be tempted to go back to their partners.

She added: “When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result in some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part. I couldn’t be responsible for that. Even if Chris never hit me again, who’s to say their boyfriend won’t? Who’s to say they won’t kill these girls? I didn’t realize how much of an impact I had on these girls’ lives until that happened.”

Chris has been ordered by a judge not to contact or see Rihanna for five years as part of the singer’s sentence following the assault.