That is, until photos of Rihanna's battered face were leaked for all the world to see.

Now, eight months later, Rihanna is speaking out about her ordeal -- first, in a sit-down interview with Diane Sawyer for TV's 'Good Morning America' and '20/20,' and also in a revealing profile in Glamour magazine. While no one can fault the young pop star for wanting privacy and time to recover, should she have broken her silence earlier?

"Obviously she's coming out now because she's got this album coming out," says Nekesa Moody, Music Editor for The Associated Press. "It kind of behooved her to wait until she could explain her story. [Also], there was a time when she couldn't talk about it. Chris Brown was going through the criminal justice system he just was formerly sentenced two months ago. I think she waited for all that to play out, which was pretty smart. It would be difficult for anyone to talk about this, but she always knew that whenever her album came out, she would have to talk about this. She came through something so public, you can't avoid it forever."

Kim Davis, programming manager for AOL Music agrees. "Rihanna didn't have an obligation to speak about the attack or her attacker ... Waiting to speak only left us, her fans, wanting something from her more. Was she OK? She let the photogs and gossip rags do the speculating. She was smart to keep quiet. This is not to say that it was strictly a career move -- the girl went through some scary stuff. But look at her now. She's transformed. Take one look at her 'Rated R' album cover and you'll see a girl that's sending a message: 'I'm stronger.'"

Meanwhile Brown, who was sentenced to five years probation and community service in August for the attack, has not fared so well.

"Chris Brown, in stark contrast, won't stop detailing his every emotion through every imaginable medium - Twitter, TV, you name it," Davis says. "The result of such an outpouring is, inevitably, a confused message. He's sorry, he wants her back, he's angry at Oprah. Let's face it, headlines are not his reputation's friend."

"I don't think he's 'done,' " Moody says of Brown's diminished career prospects. "I think there's still a lot of resentment. People might like the music but that doesn't mean they'll love the person. I don't think that his apology to her was necessarily the greatest. But I don't think that anyone in this era of entertainment is 'done.' If R. Kelly can come back ... so many people have come back after doing really bad things, but at the same time, he has his work cut out for him."