Matt Leinart embarrassed by how he ruined Rihanna date and landed in the 'friendzone'

Matt Leinart enjoyed plenty of high-pressure moments during his football career, but apparently none prepared him for going on a date with Rihanna .

The former Arizona Cardinals quarterback has opened up about the encounter, admitting a combination of nerves and insecurity left him unable to make the impression he wanted.

“Oh God, are we really going there?” Leinart said when the subject was raised on The Dan Patrick Show.

“I wasn’t at my best,” Leinart admitted. “I definitely wasn’t at my best that day. We were friends, we hung out a couple times, we had a mutual circle of friends, and her assistant and sort of right-hand girl, still to this day I’m friends with, she grew up with one of my best friends, so that was kind of the thing.”

Leinart's confidence disappeared on Rihanna date

Leinart and Rihanna had already become friends through their shared social circle before agreeing to meet at Teddy's nightclub inside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

However, Leinart previously explained on his Throwbacks podcast that a large blister appeared on his lip at precisely the wrong time.

“The problem was I had this f****ng ginormous blister on my lip,” Leinart said.

The problem affected his confidence far more than he expected, with the former quarterback comparing his embarrassment to insecurities he experienced as a child.

“I would get these sun blisters,” he explained. “I felt like when I used to be super fat when I was little, and I was afraid to take my shirt off at P.E. You know, when you’re so embarrassed you’re like, ‘Please don’t look at me.’”

Matt Leinart admits he couldn't even make eye contact

Friends convinced Leinart to go through with the date despite his concerns, but the discomfort didn't disappear once he arrived.

“I couldn’t make eye contact, dude,” Leinart recalled, describing how difficult he found simply talking to Rihanna .

Looking back, Leinart believes his younger self simply lacked the confidence people might have expected from a successful NFL quarterback.

“But yeah, it was a young Matt , not super confident,” Leinart said. “You thought I would have had a lot of confidence; I didn’t, and yeah, so that’s that.”

There was ultimately no second date, leaving Leinart with a memorable story about the night his chance with one of the world's biggest music stars ended firmly in friendship.