Officials have confirmed the cause of death of Rihanna's father, Ronald Fenty, who passed away on May 30 surrounded by his family.
The 70-year-old was suffering from a myriad of illnesses when he passed, according to the death certificate obtained by TMZ.
Ronald's sudden passing
© WireImageRonald checked into a Los Angeles hospital in late May, and quickly declined in health. His death certificate states that the cause of death was due to acute respiratory failure, pancreatic cancer, and aspiration pneumonia.
Also listed on the certificate were acute renal failure and acute tubular necrosis, indicating that his kidneys had shut down.
He was frequently visited by his family during his time in hospital, including Rihanna and her younger brother Rajad.
© Ronald FentyThe "Diamonds" singer is one of three children from Ronald's marriage to Monica Braithwaite, including her brother Rorrey. The pair raised their kids in Barbados, yet separated when Rihanna was young and divorced in 2002.
Ronald also has three children from previous relationships, including daughters Samantha and Kandy, and son Jamie.
Family ties
© Ronald FentyRihanna and her father have shared a rocky relationship over the years, and Ronald struggled with substance abuse issues throughout his life. After the performer was assaulted by her then-partner Chris Brown in 2009, Ronald reportedly spoke to the media without consulting her, causing a major breach of trust.
"You grow up with your father, you know him, you are a part of him, for goodness' sakes!" she said, per Billboard. "And then he does something so bizarre that I can't begin to wrap my mind around it."
The father-daughter duo appeared to be back on track a year later, when the Grammy winner revealed to Oprah that she had forgiven him.
© FilmMagic"He taught me everything, and as awful as he was to my mom, at times, it didn't compare to how great he was as a father," she said. "And I had to come to terms with that, and I was able to close that gap with him.”
Despite their reconciliation, Rihanna sued her father in 2019 with claims that he had tried to exploit her name for financial gain.
The mother of two alleged at the time that he had posed as her manager to solicit new clients for his talent development company, Fenty Entertainment. However, she dropped the case three weeks before the trial was set to begin in 2021.
New beginnings
© GC ImagesRonald's passing comes just weeks after Rihanna announced that she was expecting her third child with her partner, A$AP Rocky.
The pair are also the proud parents of sons RZA, three, and Riot Rose, one.
The beauty mogul debuted her baby bump hours before stepping onto the Met Gala red carpet in May, an event which her partner was co-chairing alongside Colman Domingo, Pharrell Williams and Lewis Hamilton.
© FilmMagicA$AP confirmed the news on the red carpet, sharing that it felt "amazing" to welcome another child into their lives.
"It's time that we show the people what we was cooking up. And I'm glad everybody's happy for us 'cause we definitely happy, you know," he told reporters.
To learn more about Rihanna's motherhood journey, watch below...
