It's been obvious for a while now, but Rihanna has gone and made it officially official: She and Chris Brown are back together.

The two famously split up in 2009 after Brown severely beat Rihanna to within an inch of her life and left horrific contusions on her face and body.

"I decided it was more important for me to be happy," Rihanna told Rolling Stone magazine in an interview scheduled to hit stands tomorrow. "I wasn't going to let anybody's opinion get in the way of that. Even if it's a mistake, it's my mistake. After being tormented for so many years, being angry and dark, I'd rather just live my truth and take the backlash. I can handle it."

Brown pleaded guilty in June 2009 to assaulting Rihanna as part of a deal that lessened his punishment to five years probation, one year of domestic violence counseling, and six months of community service.

He was also ordered to stay at least 50 yards away from Rihanna at all times, however that five-year restraining order was modified last February to remove the distance restriction and replace it with a promise not to "annoy, molest, or conduct surveillance of the person on the order."

The confirmation of Rihanna and Brown's reconciliation comes just one day after Brown reportedly assaulted R&B artist Frank Ocean over a parking space.

But Rihanna swears to Rolling Stone that Brown is a changed man.

"It's different now," she said. "We don't have those types of arguments anymore. We talk about shit. We value each other. We know exactly what we have now, and we don't want to lose that."

As for the possibility that Brown might turn violent towards her again, Rihanna insists "that's just not an option."

"I can't say that nothing else will ever go wrong," she acknowledges, "but I'm pretty solid in the knowing that he's disgusted by that. And I wouldn't have gone this far if I ever thought that was a possibility."

[photo via Getty]