Man stunned after realising Rihanna paid him $500,000 to move out of his own home for a week
Rihanna paid the man $500,000 to live in his home for a week, money the man says will cover the mortgage for two years.
I think we have only just got over Rihanna's halftime performance at the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona three months on from the spectacle.
The show was loved by many in what was a comeback performance from the 35-year-old, and even achieved five million more views than the actual game itself.
And while all the eyes were focused on the show in the stadium, there is obviously a lot of background goings on - like where Rihanna stayed while she was in Arizona.
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Well, 48-year-old cybersecurity expert Spyro Malaspinas knowns all about that, as he rented out his five-bedroom home to Rihanna during the Super Bowl week.
He purchased the 6,400-square-foot home in the affluent town of Paradise Valley for a whopping $7.3 million last year.
In the build-up to the 2023 Super Bowl, Malaspinas was approached by a property management firm who he already worked with.
They offered him a staggering $500,000 to rent his home out in the week of Super Bowl LVII, an offer he really couldn't refuse.
What he didn't know at the time was they were acting on behalf of Rihanna, who was looking for somewhere to crash as she prepared for her big comeback.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Malaspinas said: "The last thing I am is a real estate baron.
"My pride’s not that big. I don’t mind moving out for $500,000 a week."
The cybersecurity expert told the outlet the money he received just to move out for a week will coverage his mortgage payments for two years.
It wasn't until after Malaspinas agreed the hefty lease that he found out he was renting his home out for the week to Rihanna.
"My [13-year-old] daughter was absolutely thrilled," he told the Wall Street Journal.
Malaspinas says he has actually not moved back into the five-bed house since Rihanna's stay, and has been offered 'crazy amounts of money' to sell-up.
The house, located between Phoenix and Scottsdal, was ideally located for Rihanna to get to the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, as it is only a 30-minute drive.
At the show itself, the whole talk was about Rihanna and her new baby on the way, with her reps confirming afterwards she is pregnant with her second child.
Rihanna and rapper-producer partner A$AP Rocky have already welcomed their first child - a baby boy - into the world last May, but it was first confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter that the celebrity couple are expecting their second arrival.
Topics: Rihanna, Super Bowl, Music, Celebrity
Callum Jones