It has been six months since Chris Brown, 20, and Rihanna, 21, got into a late-night fight that left Rihanna pretty banged up.
Since then, Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault and was sentence to five years’ probation.
On August 26, the musician sat down with PEOPLE for his first interview and as his mother Joyce Hawkins, an abuse victim herself, sat nearby, opened up about his shame over that “terrible” night, his enduring love for Rihanna and why he swears he’ll never hit a woman again.