It’s been three years since Chris Brown brutally abused Rihanna and in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, she breaks down and explains the sympathy she feels for him.

After revealing that she “was more concerned about him,” Rihanna continued, “As angry as I was, as angry and hurt and betrayed, I just felt like he made that mistake because he needed help and who’s going to help him?”

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Rihanna lets the tears fall while telling Oprah, “It was hard for me to even pay attention to my mind and figuring things out because now it became a circus and I felt protective. I felt like the only person they hate right now is him.”

Rihanna has talked about her relationship with Chris before, but this is the first time she’s really explained her true feelings about the whole situation. You can catch the interview on Oprah’s Next Chapter when it airs Sunday, August 19th at 9 pm on OWN.

After watching Rihanna, have your feelings towards Chris changed?