Beyoncé and Jay-Z's family has undoubtedly shaped the music industry.
The pair has won several Grammys, their eldest child has got a Guinness World Record thanks
to a Jay-Z song, and they even rented the Louvre museum to shoot a music video.
However, things haven't always been easy for the couple.
After the rapper's infidelity and an infamous altercation in an elevator, their marriage
almost ended.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z first met when the "Halo" singer was 18.
The stars sat next to each other on a plane while on the way to the 200 MTV Spring Break
Festival.
Years later, Jay-Z opened up about the moment in his song "713", where he sang, “I knew
straight away.”
The couple were friends for a year and a half before engaging romantically.
During this time, the duo talked on the phone constantly.
Their first official date happened at a restaurant.
In order to "play it cool", the rapper brought a friend.
In the song, he claims this was his "first foolish mistake."
At first, the stars kept their relationship under wraps.
Jay-Z described the beginning of their romance to Vanity Fair Magazine, saying,
"You've got to try first.
You got to dazzle . . . wine and dine."
He claimed that Beyoncé was "a charming southern girl" during that time.
When asked if she was still a good girl, the "99 Problems" performer replied, "Nah.
She's gangsta now."
It was actually talk show host Oprah Winfrey who advised Bey to stay private.
The host recalled what she told Beyoncé the first time the pop star was on the Oprah Show,
"Don't go around telling people who you're dating."
Bey certainly agreed!
Although their romance was still a secret, the lovebirds weren't shy when it came to
working together.
In 2002, the couple released their first collaboration, "Bonnie and Clyde," followed by the pop anthem
"Crazy in Love," for which they won two Grammys.
Over the years, the musicians have consistently worked together, delivering hit songs every
time.
The duo finally made their red carpet debut as a couple in 2004.
However, they maintained their tradition of keeping things hush when they secretly married
four years later.
The wedding was held at the rapper's penthouse in Manhattan.
The ceremony included 70 thousand orchids flown from Thailand since they were Beyoncé's
favorite flower.
“They are soulmates," a friend of the couple told People Magazine, while another guest
said, "It was a very emotional wedding—lots of crying—and really very spiritual."
As beautiful as the wedding sounds, the pair initially denied it had even happened.
Three days after he tied the knot, reporters congratulated Jay-Z.
The rapper replied saying he didn't know what they were talking about.
Jay-Z finally confirmed the marriage during an interview with Vibe magazine and explained
his previous silence saying, "I just think it's really a part of your life that you gotta
keep to yourself.
You have to have something that's sacred to you and the people around you."
Beyoncé also opened up about getting married, saying she felt no rush.
In fact, she had a rule that she wouldn't get married before the age of 25!
The pop star explained that she wanted to get to know herself before committing to someone
else.
The singer revealed what she learned from her relationship, saying that even if things
look picture-perfect, you still get your feelings hurt while in a relationship with someone.
"You have to find a person you can make it through the tough times with."
In 2011, Beyoncé gave the world some exciting news while performing at the MTV Video Music
Awards.
During the red carpet, she cradled her baby bump; and during her performance, the artist
said, "I want you to feel the love that's growing
inside me."
In her documentary "Life Is But a Dream," the star revealed that this wasn't her first
pregnancy, confessing she had previously miscarried.
Beyoncé also spoke about the impact having her first child with Jay-Z had on their relationship.
"This baby has made me love him more than I ever thought I could love another human
being," the star said.
"We almost feel like one."
During this time, the pair had to deal with rumours that Beyoncé wasn't pregnant and
had hired a surrogate instead.
Jay-Z told Vanity Fair how he felt about the gossip, saying, "I don't even know how to
answer that.
It's just so stupid."
In early 2012, the duo finally welcomed their first daughter, Blue Ivy.
When Blue was only two days old, her vocals were featured on the rapper's song "Glory."
This earned her the Guinness World Record for being the youngest person to have a song
appear on the billboard chart.
Years later, Blue Ivy became the second-youngest artist to win a Grammy Award thanks to a writing
credit on Beyoncé’s song “Brown Skin Girl.”
What a way to follow in your parents' footsteps!
The couple decided to trademark their daughter's name since there were people trying to make
products based on it.
"You don't want anybody trying to benefit off your baby's name," Jay-Z explained.
Things seemed to be going great with the duo.
However, everything changed in 2014 due to the infamous elevator incident.
On May 7th, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and her sister Solange attended the Met Gala.
Five days later, a video leaked, showing Solange attacking Jay in an elevator at an after-party.
The tabloids reported that Solange was upset over cheating rumours involving the rapper.
A few days later, the trio released a statement.
Although they didn't reveal the reason for the fight, they claimed that they had worked
through it.
"They both have apologized to each other and we have moved forward as a united family,"
the statement said about Jay-Z and Solange.
"We love each other and above all we are family."
In the remix of her song Flawless, Bey seemed to reference the incident saying, "Of course
sometimes s*** go down when there's a billion dollars in an elevator."
Although the elevator incident was resolved, the infidelity rumors continued.
Sources told several media outlets that even divorce was on the cards.
"If they split, no one would be surprised," an insider told People Magazine.
Beyoncé seemed to open up about the cheating in her 2016 album "Lemonade", which centers
around adultery, betrayal, and forgiveness.
One of the songs, "Sorry", mentioned another woman, saying, "He better call Becky with
the good hair."
This led to weeks of gossip, with fans and tabloids trying to unveil the identity of
this mystery woman.
Over a year after the album was released, Jay-Z admitted to cheating in an interview
with the New York Times Style Magazine, saying, "The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone's
face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself."
The rapper revealed that therapy had helped him look inside himself and open up emotionally.
Jay-Z also opened up about the aftermath of infidelity in his song "4:44," with lyrics
like "I'm letting you down every day" and "I seen the innocence leave your eyes".
During the interview, the star confessed that he and Beyoncé had played "Lemonade" and
"4:44" to each other.
Although the experience was painful and uncomfortable, he explained that, "We were using our art
almost like a therapy session."
The couple managed to work through it, with Beyoncé inviting the rapper onstage during
the final show of her "Formation" tour and telling the audience to "give it up for my
man."
In early 2017, the stars shared some happy news with the world: Beyoncé was pregnant
again, this time with twins.
The singer uploaded a picture of herself cradling her baby bump on Instagram, writing, "We would
like to share our love and happiness.
We have been blessed two times over."
A few months later, Beyoncé celebrated their wedding anniversary by uploading a sweet montage
video on Instagram set to her song "Die with you."
The couple vacationed together in Bora Bora, their last trip before the twins were finally
born.
In 2018, the musician shocked their fans when they dropped a joint album called "Everything
Is Love."
For one of the songs, "Apeshit," they rented out the Louvre museum and featured works of
art as incredible as the "Mona Lisa" or "The Raft of Medusa."
The album won the couple yet another Grammy.
Although they are grateful for how well things are going professionally, the pair have admitted
that combining parenthood with such busy careers can be tricky.
Jay-Z told Kevin Hart that he tried to prioritize spending time with his children, saying they
are the people "that you love more than anything in the world."
Beyoncé also confessed that balancing work and life is the most stressful thing for her.
"Making sure I am present for my kids all while running a company can be challenging."
Over the years, the stars have shared some cute moments with their family on social media.
On Halloween 2022, the singer uploaded a picture with her husband and kids, showing them dressed
up as the fictional "Proud Family."
She captioned the picture with the words, "Family every single day and night."
The pair seemed to have completely worked through their issues and are now stronger
than ever, both as a marriage and as a professional duo.
Here at Rumour Juice, we wish the couple the best and hope they can continue to give us
incredible music for many more years.