"I always keep my guard up with guys and I guess that can get in the way sometimes. I can make them go through hell"
About this Quote
Then she pivots: “I guess that can get in the way sometimes.” That “I guess” is doing quiet work, softening what could read as an indictment. It’s a conversational shrug that invites empathy without surrendering control. She acknowledges the cost of self-protection while keeping the moral center on her own agency. No therapist-speak, no redemption arc, just a lived contradiction: defenses keep you safe, and they also keep you alone.
“I can make them go through hell” is the punchline with teeth. It’s partly bravado, partly preemptive honesty, and partly a reversal of the cultural default where men are the gatekeepers and women are the ones “difficult to love.” In Rihanna’s mouth, “hell” isn’t melodrama; it’s the toll of earning trust from someone who’s been burned and watched. The subtext: if you want access, you pay the price, and she won’t apologize for the entrance fee. That posture reads less like cruelty than a survival tactic turned into a kind of swaggering self-portrait.
Quote Details
| Topic | Love |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Rihanna. (2026, January 16). I always keep my guard up with guys and I guess that can get in the way sometimes. I can make them go through hell. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-always-keep-my-guard-up-with-guys-and-i-guess-94683/
Chicago Style
Rihanna. "I always keep my guard up with guys and I guess that can get in the way sometimes. I can make them go through hell." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-always-keep-my-guard-up-with-guys-and-i-guess-94683/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I always keep my guard up with guys and I guess that can get in the way sometimes. I can make them go through hell." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-always-keep-my-guard-up-with-guys-and-i-guess-94683/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.







