Rihanna Interview With Diane Sawyer (Good Morning America)

Rihanna's first television interview since being assaulted by former boyfriend Chris Brown, aired on Good Morning America today.

The 21-year-old singer tells Diane Sawyer she was embarrassed that she "fell in love with that person."

"So far in love. So unconditional that I went back. It's humiliating to say this happened. To accept that? It's a traumatizing experience," she told Sawyer.

"I stayed. I even went back after he beat me, which was wrong," she added. "But again ... I'm a human being and people put me on a very unrealistic pedestal. And all these expectations, I'm not perfect."

Sawyer noted that, on average, woman will take a beating many times before leaving.

"And I don't want that to happen...", she said, "It's completely normal to go back. You start lying to yourself. The minute the physical wounds go away, you want this thing to go away. This is a memory you don't want to have ever again."

"When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result into some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part," she explains. "Even if Chris never hit me again, who's to say that their boyfriend won't? Who's to say that they won't kill these girls? These are young girls. I just didn't realize how much of an impact I had on these girls' lives until that happened."

It was her first sit-down interview since her highly publicized domestic dispute with Brown, in February. Rihanna's second interview with Diane Sawyer will air on 20/20 Friday night.