Twenty-three-year-old Yna Sertalf, says she looks so much like Rihanna even her own mum got confused when she saw a magazine with a photo of the Barbadian singer on the front.
Yna, who lives in France but is originally from Martinique in the West Indies, says it was her uncle who first pointed out their similarities and since then she’s been stopped in the street by fans who have mistaken her for the singer and has to tell them she’s not the real RiRi.
She manages to see the funny side most of the time and jokes that she is the ‘fatter Rihanna’, but looking like the popstar also has its drawbacks and single Yna says it can be hard finding love.
Yna, said:
“I’ve been single for about a year, but I would never put myself in a relationship with someone who sees me as ‘Rihanna’ and not ‘Yna’.
“When I talk to someone and hear ‘Rihanna’ too many times [when we’re hanging out], I give up [on them] because I can’t determine if the person fantasises about Rihanna or if they really want to know me.
That’s why I’m single.
“I have been mistaken for Rihanna quite a lot. This happens to me usually when I’m in tourist places.
“I remember a woman saw me and was being shy. She assumed I spoke English and spoke to me to ask if she could take a picture, and I agreed. It wasn’t the first time.
“But then she asked me, ‘are you really Rihanna?’ with a face full of joy.
“I felt like I was breaking her heart by telling her no, but I find it pretty funny to be in these situations.
“My friends and family find it funny too. Once my mom received a magazine in her mailbox with Rihanna on the cover and she sent it to me, saying ‘I thought it was you’.
“The funniest thing is when people talk about you thinking they’re being discrete. I always smile at them to show them that I heard. It’s embarrassing.
“But when little kids scream at their parents, ‘it’s Rihanna’, it’s lovely. Sometimes even if we tell them I’m not her, they think we’re lying.
“I always tell the truth straight away. Because I am fatter than her and I speak French people notice that I’m not her quickly enough.”
