Inside Jay-Z and Beyonce’s 20-year relationship including marriage and family-Danni Scott-Entertainment – Metro

Beyonce and Jay-Z have been together for over 20 years (Picture: Raven Varona/Parkwood/PictureGroup/REX/Shutterstock)

Jay-Z and Beyonce have been a pop culture power couple since the early 00s but their relationship is now under scrutiny as he is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl.

The 55-year-old rapper has denied accusations that he and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs assaulted the unnamed girl after the 2000 MTV Music Awards.

In a statement, Carter said his ‘only heartbreak’ was for his famous wife, 43, and their children Blue Ivy, 12, and twins Rumi and Sir, seven.

He lamented his children having to ‘endure’ the ‘cruelty and greed of other people’ in the lengthy post about family.

This was a rare insight into the Carter’s home life, which they usually keep private except for collaborative songs and family outings.

Beyonce and Jay-Z have been married for over 16 years, so we look at how they met and explore a timeline of their relationship.

They first got together in 2000, when Beyonce was first going solo (Picture: MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images)

When did Jay-Z and Beyonce start dating?

An exact date is not known for when the pair actually met but the Destiny’s Child icon previously told Seventeen that she met Jay-Z when she was 18.

This would place their initial meeting between September 1999 and August 2000, when the Renegade rapper was in his early 30s.

Beyonce once told Oprah Winfrey they were ‘friends first for a year and a half’ before going on any dates, building a ‘foundation’.

It was then when the Drunk In Love singer was 19, they started their romantic relationship; Jay-Z was 32 at this point.

Beyonce, then 18, said she and Jay-Z, then 31, were friends for a year before dating
(Picture: Sipa/REX/Shutterstock)

In November 2001, they hard-launched as an official couple with a Vanity Fair cover with him later saying he had his ‘work cut out’ while ‘pursuing her’.

They solidified things in 2002 with 03 Bonnie & Clyde, their first collaborative track together -but by no means their last.

Beyonce and Jay-Z’s ’emotional’ 2008 wedding

After seven years together, Beyonce and Jay-Z tied the knot at a secret ceremony on April 4, 2008.

The intimate ceremony was held at the Empire State of Mind rapper’s Manhattan home, with the couple keeping things quiet for the first few months.

A source told People at the time it was ‘a very emotional wedding — lots of crying — and really very spiritual.’

They quickly appeared everywhere together before tying the knot in 2008
(Picture: Charles Sykes/REX/Shutterstock)

Queen Bey didn’t want to get married before she was 25
(Picture: Hahn-Khayat-Nebinger/ABACA/REX/Shutterstock)

Beyonce later told Seventeen she had refused to get married until after 25, as ‘you have to get to know yourself’ first before you ‘share that with someone else’.

It wasn’t until September that Jay-Z confirmed the marriage in an interview, although he said he wished to keep that side of his life private.

Who are Beyonce and Jay-Z’s children?

In August 2011, Beyonce confirmed that she and Jay-Z were expecting their first child – Blue Ivy – together by debuting a baby bump at the MTV VMAs.

The announcement was plagued by surrogate conspiracies which the Love On Top hitmaker called ‘the most ridiculous rumour’ in her Life Is But A Dream documentary.

After Blue Ivy was born on January 7, 2012, it would be another five years and a huge amount of relationship turmoil before they welcomed their twins.

In 2011, they announced Bey was pregnant (Picture: Gregory Pace/BEI/REX/Shutterstock)

She welcomed Blue Ivy months later (Picture: Zelig Shaul/REX/Shutterstock)

Blue has followed in her parents’ creative footsteps (Picture: Kevin Mazur/MTV1415/WireImage)

On February 17, Beyonce revealed she was expecting and a source confirmed she had given birth in mid-June 2017.

In his 14th solo album 4:44, Jay-Z addressed their relationship by apologising to his wife for cheating and saying his children had changed him, as well as mentioning miscarriages.

It was then in July 2017 that the newborns’ names – Rumi and Sir – were revealed alongside the first public pictures of them.

Blue Ivy has become a mini star after touring with her mum last year on the Renaissance World Tour, impressing fans with her dancing.

What happened during the 2014 Solange incident?

Family isn’t always easy as sisters Beyonce and Solange know all too well after footage of Solange attacking Jay-Z in a lift was leaked online.

The bizarre incident occurred after the 2014 Met Gala, with the trio attending an afterparty together before the spat.

They have never spoken about what sparked the altercation, however, multiple outlets reported cheating rumours.

As the speculation grew, as a family they released a statement which read: ‘There has been a great deal of speculation about what triggered the unfortunate incident.

The lift incident has gone down in infamy (Picture: Frank Micelotta/REX/Shutterstock)

The family insisted there was ‘peace’ now (Picture: Josh Brasted/WireImage)

‘But the most important thing is that our family has worked through it. Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred.

‘They both acknowledge their role in this private matter that has played out in the public. They both have apologized to each other and we have moved forward as a united family.’

The statement denied that Solange was ‘intoxicated or erratic’ and said that all families have problems, they are ‘no different’.

It concluded: ‘We love each other and above all we are family. We’ve put this behind us and hope everyone else will do the same.’

Beyonce and Jay-Z cheating speculation

Everyone remembers where they were when Beyonce dropped the visual album and cultural shockwave that was Lemonade (2016).

Cheating rumours had plagued Jay-Z for years and infidelity appeared to be at the core of the album, with Don’t Hurt Yourself and Hold Up taking centre stage.

‘If you try that s**t again, you’re going to lose your wife,’ while she hurled her wedding ring at the camera left little room for alternative interpretations.

Lemonade landed Beyonce two Grammy Awards (Picture: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

She has alluded to her family life in many tracks over the years (Picture: Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images)

Some tracks did allude to forgiveness, such as All Night, but the fans were already hunting for ‘Becky with the good hair’.

This era was incredibly turbulent for the couple as one minute they were spotted cosying up together before her Formation World Tour, and the next Beyonce was at the Met Gala alone.

Beyoncé’s mom Tina Knowles-Lawson weighed in on Lemonade, stating: ‘It could be about anyone’s marriage. I think that everybody at one time or another has been betrayed and lied to and it’s about the pain and it’s about the healing process and it’s about, “How do you get past that and move on.”‘

Jay-Z and Beyonce themselves have never publicly confirmed or denied any speculation and by 2017, things had patched up enough for them to welcome the twins.

What songs have Jay-Z and Beyonce written about each other?

Both artists’ careers are so deeply intertwined at this point that it’s hard to say what song is or isn’t about the other.

Don’t forget that Beyonce was only just leaving Destiny’s Child for her solo career when she began dating the Young Forever rapper.

Jay-Z featured on Crazy in Love after huge speculation over their relationship and Bonnie & Clyde’s release the year before.

Countdown from album 4 is often cited as giving insight into their relationship, stating that three years into their marriage he’s ‘still the one’ she needs.

By 2014 the narrative started to shift with tracks like Mine suggesting she was second guessing their romance would ‘make it’ and ‘taking this a little too far’.

However, that same self-titled album also featured tracks like XO, Drunk in Love, and Partition – all heavily suggesting the couple were still loved up.

The couple appear to be going strong (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

Jay-Z addressed Lemonade in his last album 4:44 in 2017 (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Then came Lemonade and we all know what happened there. Her more recent albums have been less introspective but Plastic on the Sofa from Renaissance serves as a little reminder.

Meanwhile, Jay-Z has collaborated on plenty of tracks with his wife as well as directly addressing Lemonade in 4:44.

That 2017 album appeared to both admit to and apologise for any infidelity, serving as the last full studio album the rapper has released to date.

His feature on single I Want You Forever suggested a (slightly grovelling) reiteration of his love for Beyonce but given this was for the soundtrack of The Book of Clarence, the lines are a little blurred.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More