Rihanna's dad has given her ex Chris Brown his blessing to romance his daughter again, insisting he has always respected the R&B star.

Brown has confirmed he and model Karrueche Tran have split over his growing friendship with Rihanna, and Ronald Fenty couldn't be happier that his daughter and her ex-boyfriend could soon be back in each other's arms.

The couple split in 2009 after a Grammy Awards eve fight, which left Rihanna black and blue - and led to an assault conviction for Brown.

The Kiss Kiss singer was ordered to stay away from his ex, but the ruling was relaxed in 2010 and Brown and Rihanna have since hit the studio together to record two tracks together.

Rumors of a reconciliation have never gone away and now Fenty is thrilled at the prospect of his daughter dating Brown again.

He tells In Touch magazine, "I think everyone makes mistakes and they shouldn't be held to them forever. Everyone should be forgiven once. There's a lot more to Chris than the whole world knows.

"I love Chris, man. He's got so much charisma. And he's always had so much respect for me. That's what I love about him. He's always shown me respect."

And Ronald Fenty admits he's not surprised by the news that Rihanna and Brown might be giving romance a second chance: "I know they love each other. They always have. She's happiest when she's around him, and as long as she's happy, I am happy and the whole world should be too."