Rihanna had remained quiet about the beating Chris Brown handed to her last February, but she recently decided to speak out in and interview about the event. And it’s not just about her. Rihanna wants to be a voice to help others who may be in danger of returning to an abusive relationship. So the silence is over, just days before her new CD hits store shelves. Here is what Rihanna told ABC regarding her relationship with Chris Brown:

“It was a wake-up call. It was a wake-up call for me. Big time. I will say that to any young girl who is going through domestic violence, don’t react off of love. F love. Come out of the situation and look at it in the third person and for what it really is.

So far in love. So unconditional that I went back. It’s humiliating to say this happened. To accept that? It’s a traumatizing experience,” she said. “I stayed. I even went back after he beat me, which was wrong. But again … I’m a human being and people put me on a very unrealistic pedestal. And all these expectations, I’m not perfect.”