In a new interview with the New York Times, young hip-hop stud Drake confirms that he briefly dated pop starlet Rihanna last summer, as was widely rumored at the time.

Big deal, right? As you might expect from any young pair (he was 22, she 21), the relationship fizzled as fast as it sparked. More surprising, though, is the candor with which Drake is now speaking of its conclusion.

The Times cites one verse from “Fireworks,” the opening track from Drake’s forthcoming debut Thank Me Later, as being about their time together. “I could tell it wasn’t love,” Drake raps on the song, which doesn’t mention Rihanna by name. “I just thought you f—– with me/Who’d have predicted that Lucky Strike would have you stuck with me?/I kept my wits about me, luckily/What happened between us that night, it always seems to trouble me/Now all of a sudden, these gossip rags wanna cover me/And you making it seem that it happened that way because of me/But I was curious, and I’ll never forget it, baby, what an experience/You could’ve been the one, but it wasn’t that serious.”

Looking back on their relationship, Drake told the Times, “I was a pawn…You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I’ve done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear. I was like, wow, this feels terrible.”

I’m amazed at that quote. How many rappers do you think would openly say a girl stomped on their heart? This is what makes Drake an incredible artist. I don’t appreciate him because he hurts just like us. He’s human. I knew that. He’s special because in a realm where guys are Teflon tough, he’s confident enough to say he’s weak.

Off the top of my head, Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” (targeted at Britney Spears) and Travie McCoy’s “Don’t Pretend” (shot at Katy Perry) are two songs I can think of about guys hurt by their real-life exes. What are your some of your favorite songs with guys going in depth about being hurt in a relationship? Let us know.

Every Turn Rihanna and Drake’s Relationship Has Taken Since They Met: The History Is Real

In theory, everyone who’s friends with Rihanna is thereby involved in a hot friendship.

But some of RiRi’s friendships are hotter than others.

Fresh from collaborating on “Work,” she and Drake are keeping company again, on stage and off, and nothing has changed—minus hair color and sideburns length—since they first entered each others’ orbit. Their song is a massive hit, their chemistry is off the charts and they’ve got everybody talking.

And we’re now convinced that’s just how they like it…

“I’m single right now and it’s not that I’m like, ‘Oh, pro-single, yes, I hate men!’ I just think I have so much on my plate that I can’t even find the time to entertain a steady relationship or anything serious. Or even a text. Right now it’s just crazy,” Rihanna said on Ellen in February, when “Work” had just dropped.

When Ellen DeGeneres hinted that Drake may be a good romantic option if he was on tour with her, the Barbadian songstress rolled her eyes and reminded Ellen, “He’s not touring with me.” “Well he should,” Ellen insisted and Rihanna agreed. “He totally should, maybe next time…I would love to go on tour with Drake, actually. That has to happen.”

Yeah, we’d buy tickets to that. And we’d bring our body-language experts, relationship counselors, Drake and Rihanna’s moms, all their friends and anyone else who could give more definitive insight on just how far these two like to take it. Because they obviously have a great affinity for each other, and have ever since they met.