CHRIS BROWN SAYS HIS BIGGEST REGRET WAS BEATING RIHANNA

For the first time, Chris Brown acknowledged his rekindled romance with Rihanna, and expressed regret for the infamous 2009 assault on his pop star girlfriend.

In a candid interview with the U.K.'s Mirror, Brown, 23, called the assault that left Rihanna, 25, bruised and bloodied his "deepest regret."

"Sometimes you row, you fight, with the one you love and things get said, stuff spirals," he said. "That night was the deepest regret of my life, the biggest mistake. But she loves me - what can I say? I'm forgiven … but, yes, I worked hard for it."

Standing by her man, Rihanna recently told Rolling Stone magazine that her relationship with Brown is "different now. We don't have those types of arguments anymore."

Speaking at Elton John's Aids Foundation Oscars after-party Sunday night, Brown told the Mirror that he has "grown up" and has since learned how to deal with the unrelenting criticism and backlash he has received.

"I was very young and I took a lot of stuff, fame, for granted," he said. "I didn't understand it. The support from those who do know me and the fans, who are incredible, got me through."

Brown also dismissed Oscars host Seth MacFarlane's joke during the ceremony, in which MacFarlane referred to "unspeakably violent" film "Django Unchained" as a date night for Brown and Rihanna.

"People attack me and criticize me," he said. "It happens all the time. But they don't know me, and they don't know us. It doesn't bother me anymore."

Since the assault, the general public has been firm in calling out Brown's behavior and outbursts of violence, including his destroying of a "Good Morning America" dressing room, his nightclub spat with rapper Drake, and most recently - a reported parking lot brawl with singer Frank Ocean.

"He's not the monster everyone thinks." Rihanna said to Rolling Stone. "He's a good person. He's giving and loving. He's fun to be around and he has a fantastic heart."

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