Hollywood marriages are not always known for making it, yet singer Alicia Keys and her husband,
producer Swizz Beatz, seem to be going against that trend. It's hard not to be
curious about the dynamic couple's marriage, so here's a look inside their relationship.
Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz's relationship didn't necessarily get off to a good start,
but the two did meet long ago when they were just teens. As Keys shared in her memoir, More Myself,
they first crossed paths when a mutual friend introduced them.
Yet it definitely wasn't love at first sight. Keys wrote,
"[We] ended up in the same circles at various awards shows and industry events.
He'd usually pull up in some fancy car, rolling deep with his Bronx crew and shining
with diamonds. [...] I wanted nothing to do with that scene or with Swizz."
In fact, Keys revealed to Marie Claire U.K. that after she met
Beatz — government name Kasseem Dean — she tried to avoid him. She told a reporter,
"Honestly, I didn't really like him that much. I thought he was too ostentatious.
Swizz will have the fastest car, the biggest jewelry, the loudest jacket.
Everything with him is really over the top. I used to see him and think, 'He is so annoying.'"
Keys also said she rejected the idea from her management to work professionally with Beatz,
who is a well-respected music producer, telling the publication,
"I fought it tooth and nail. Why should I work with him?
Finally, though, we did it and we had a ball."
While Alicia Keys may not have been into Swizz Beatz at first, the two
seemed to really hit off after working together in the studio.
Keys revealed that it was then she finally saw a different side to Beatz. In More Myself,
Keys wrote that they had bonded over their experiences growing up in New York City.
They also shared similar views from the work they each did with different charities.
She wrote,
"The more we talked the more I noticed how his mind worked. Beyond the baggy jeans and
arm tats there was depth. He was so aware of what was happening around the world."
It was because of this that Keys agreed to have lunch with him,
but Beatz almost blew it. Keys explained,
"I made a reservation for noon at an outdoor restaurant in downtown Manhattan.
Swizz was nowhere in sight."
When he finally arrived at 12:20, Keys wanted to be mad but Beatz made up for it.
Keys recalled how he, quote,
"lifted the mood with a steady stream of humor and fascinating conversation."
In true Swizz Beatz fashion, his proposal to Alicia Keys was over the top and crazy romantic.
Just before her 29th birthday in January 2010, Beatz proposed to Keys with a reported seven-carat
diamond ring. Keys was spotted by paparazzi wearing the big rock during their post-engagement
jaunt to Hawaii, and while her rep initially denied the engagement rumors to Us Weekly, a
source told the outlet the couple was celebrating both their engagement and Keys' birthday.
The couple ended up officially confirming their engagement months later, along with news that they
were expecting their first child together. Keys wrote in More Myself about a romantic
moment from their engagement trip, where she believes their first son, Egypt, was conceived.
In the book, Keys recalled how Beatz told her, quote, "'I've always wanted you to be my canvas,'"
and began using paints and brushes to illustrate her body. One thing led to another.
When she later realized she was pregnant, she said,
"I wasn't exactly surprised."
She added,
"As that winter gave way to spring, we relished two pleasures: the engagement and the pregnancy."
While Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz don't usually hold back when it comes to discussing their
relationship, their 2010 wedding was actually quite private. The two wed in front of close
family and friends in a small ceremony in a private home on the Mediterranean Sea.
The couple seemed to be even more excited for their baby that was
on the way during that time. Beatz told People,
"Whatever we're blessed with, that baby is being born to blessed parents. Alicia
is definitely one of those great parents-to-be. She's super ready. Super glowing. Super happy."
And even though the wedding was over a decade ago, for Keys it feels like
the two were just saying "I do" not too long ago. She revealed to Entertainment Tonight,
"It feels like two years. It goes by so fast. We are
so connected and we have such a beautiful bond."
Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys may have worked out their issues with each other,
but the two still had to face a lot of drama once they officially got together.
That's because during this time in 2008, Beatz was still married to his first wife, Mashonda Tifrere,
with whom he shared a son. Tifrere even accused Beatz of cheating with Keys, writing on Twitter
that the singer helped destroy her family. Beatz and Keys denied having an affair,
with the former telling Essence that their relationship didn't begin until months after
Beatz and Tifrere separated. Beatz had also had a brief relationship with Jahna Sebastian,
learning in 2008 he'd fathered a daughter as a result. Before that, he had a child, Prince
Nasir Dean, with another woman, Nicole Levy, in 2000, which was after he began dating Tifrere.
Eventually, Tifrere, Keys, and Beatz reconciled and joined forces.
Tifrere told People,
"It took two years into our blending to make it happen,
but when we did it was like turning the light on. We realized we could minimize
the impact on our children by reducing the conflict we had with one another."
"It wasn't easy. It was a rollercoaster ride. A lot of prayer, a lot of meditation."
Clearly drawing from real-life experience,
Keys put out a song called "Blended Family" in 2016. Two years later,
Tifrere released a book about co-parenting called Blend, and Keys provided the forward.
Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz share more than just their love for each other;
the two are parents to multiple kids. Their first child, Egypt Dean,
was born in October 2010. They then had their second son, Genesis Dean, in December 2014.
As mentioned, Beatz also has three older children from previous relationships.
Keys said their blended family is large and loving.
"We love each other. I mean, we hang out with each other. We go to dinner together.
Our family is one big beautiful family."
Motherhood has been good to Keys. She told Billboard,
"How you view yourself [changes]. I think that was the biggest change for
me when I had my first son. I really kind of respected myself for the first time."
She also highlighted what she's learned so far, saying,
"[My children have taught me] to not forget to be in wonder of
all the things around you. [...] Not taking them for granted. It's so special."
It's clear that music is a passion that both Keys and Beatz share.
Keys explained to Entertainment Tonight,
"Each of our first loves is music, and to be able to do that continuously
and for there to be genuine love and real connection, that's incredible."
Beatz also opened up about how they inspire each other to Us Weekly, revealing,
"I think my wife inspired me to be a better artist just by letting me have my freedom. [...] We let
each other have our freedom; We don't own each other and we just let things flow.
We have fun and we support each other's passions. I think that's the key to happiness, honestly."
They're also constantly cheering each other on and motivating each other to reach new levels.
Beatz wrote on Instagram,
"You shouldn't be jealous or upset if you have a Queen that's successful,
Smarter or better than you! What you should do is thank the most high or step your game up!"
Keys was also there to support Beatz when he applied to Harvard. She told CBS,
"I was so excited. I've been so invested in this journey with him."
While both Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz are successful in their own right,
together they definitely make a power couple. When it comes to their careers in the music industry,
they seemingly prefer to play to each other's strengths than make comparisons. Keys told CBS,
"I feel that one of the things that really works about us is we're very
different. Even his style of music is different. [...] We complement each
other as opposed to [getting] in each other's way. We don't rock like that."
Beatz went on to explain how it's better not to compete, saying,
"That's an unhealthy vibe for any couple, you know, a lot of men are scared of powerful women."
Beatz not only inspired some of Key's romantic lyrics, but they've also teamed up in the studio,
with him writing and producing several of her albums. Keys told Entertainment Tonight,
"For us to just both be at our height and place where we have really continued to grow and evolve,
it is an honor to do that together and to be able to do that with our first loves."
Outside of the music industry, Keys and Beatz are major players in the art world.
Not only was Beatz named to the Brooklyn Museum's Board of Trustees in 2015,
but the couple was also honored with a ball there for their creativity and support of the arts.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on a lot of couples but Swizz Beatz and
Alicia Keys' relationship managed to survive quarantine. That said,
Keys told People Magazine that it did take some adjusting, saying,
"So much of our life is spent traveling. Obviously, with [the pandemic],
we're literally seeing each other every day. We looked at each other
the other day and were like 'So this is what it's really like to be married.'"
While it may have been nice to be hunkered down together,
they did find solo time, Keys said, telling the publication,
"One of the things we're really good at is giving each other the space that we need. [...] And even
just being intuitive about what each other needs is also something that comes really fluid for us."
Yet the time together seemed to be a good thing for their family. Keys went on to share that they
make a point to do things to experience life together outside of the digital world, saying,
"So we play a lot of board games,
we'll watch movies together, we'll do bike rides and stuff like that."
Alicia Keys was by Swizz Beatz's side as they mourned the death of his good friend DMX.
The rapper died of a heart attack in April 2021 at age
50. Beatz took to his Instagram to pay tribute to his friend.
"Since the day that I met him, he lived his life for everyone else."
Keys spoke to People Magazine about how Beatz was dealing with DMX's death, saying,
"It's always hard to say goodbye, especially too soon and to someone that you love.
My husband has definitely been doing really well with just talking through what he feels
and talking about it with the kids and even on his socials. We're told that guys
don't express their grief and that's such a lie. We've been talking a lot
about just being able to feel how you feel and let that process and not rush that."
It seems that the key to Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz's relationship is communication
and quality time. Chatting with Billboard about her marriage, Keys said,
"I think the most important thing in any relationship is presence — being present
and really choosing to make the time and take the time for the people that you love — not
letting a part of your job be more important. And communication — really talking about who you are,
because we grow, and we should be growing together. [...] So you're both growing
and both evolving and learning more about yourself and learning more about each other."
Keys also revealed in her book More Myself that she and her husband try
to stick to one big rule they made, writing,
"Swizz and I are striving to keep our promise never to go more than
two weeks without seeing each other. Swizz has even flown from
New York City to Sydney to be with me, in order to keep that promise intact."
She added that they also set aside a weekend each month to spend together.
Their strategy appears to be working. Keys told People,
"We don't fight because we talk so much. [...] We can both be genuinely
honest. It's the first time I've ever had a relationship that has been so genuine."
When it comes to their anniversaries, Keys and Beatz love to celebrate with elaborate dates
and romantic Instagram tributes to each other. The couple took a trip to Corsica in July 2021
as a way to celebrate their 11th anniversary by returning to the place they got married.
Ahead of their 9th anniversary, the music producer told Us Weekly
that they are spontaneous when it comes to these excursions, saying,
"We start with all these big plans and then might just end up sitting home,
eating popcorn and just laughing, making jokes. Then going somewhere at the last minute."
It appears that adventures together have always been part of how Keys and Beatz celebrate their
relationship milestones. Even back in 2012 on their second wedding anniversary,
the couple returned to their native New York to visit the Apollo theater.
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