Matt Leinart details his fumble with Rihanna

Matt Leinart didn’t do a lot of fumbling during his college career – except when he went on a date with pop star Rihanna.

Leinart appeared as a guest on “The Dan Patrick Show” and told him how a lack of confidence resulted in him fumbling a date with the future nine-time Grammy Award-winning musician.

When the topic of his date with Rihanna was mentioned to him, Leinart could only put his head down and say, “Oh God, are we really going there?”

Patrick went on to ask him how he could screw up a date with Rihanna. To which Leinart admitted he just wasn’t at his best.

“It was a young Matt, just not super confident,” Leinart told Patrick. “You would’ve thought I would’ve had a lot of confidence, but I didn’t.”

In July, 2025, Leinart shocked the world when he revealed on his podcast, “Throwbacks,” that he took Rihanna on a date and blew it.

Leinart, 43, admitted that the reason he wasn’t feeling confident in himself was because of a blister that emerged on his lip the day of their date.

The former two-time national champion and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback told Patrick that prior to their brief time dating each other, the two were actually friends and met each other through a mutual friend.

“Her assistant, and sort of still right-hand girl, still to this day, I was friends with; she grew up with one of my best friends,” Leinart said.

While it’s been years since Leinart and Rihanna’s paths crossed in the dating scene, the pop star has moved on from the former USC legend, as she has three kids now with rapper A$AP Rocky.

Leinart is also happily married to former actress and attorney Josie Loren, and they have four children together, including their oldest son, Cole, who is on scholarship as a freshman quarterback at SMU.

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