Jay-Z and Beyoncé have been making beautiful music both as a couple and as collaborators for more than two decades. Fans want to know more about their full relationship timeline.
When Did Jay-Z and Beyonce Meet?
Jay was first photographed hanging out with Bey and her fellow Destiny’s Child members at a Giorgio Armani exhibition in Los Angeles in October 2000. She was 19, while he was 30.
“We were friends first for a year and a half before we went on any dates,” Beyoncé said in a 2013 interview. “We were on the phone for a year and a half, and that foundation is so important for a relationship. Just to have someone who you just like is so important, and someone [who] is honest.”
When Did Jay-Z and Beyonce Start Dating?
By the time the duo appeared on the November 2001 cover of Vanity Fair along with other music artists, Jay confessed they were “just beginning to try to date each other.” When asked to elaborate, the rapper responded, “Well, you know, you’ve got to try first. You got to dazzle … wine and dine.”
Jay-Z and Beyonce Begin Collaborating as Romance Heats Up
Jay and Beyoncé appeared together on a November 2002 episode of MTV’s Total Request Live during “Spankin’ New Music Week,” while having all the feelings. The future superstar was featured on Jay’s track “’03 Bonnie & Clyde.”
Beyoncé released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June 2003. Jay was featured on her smash lead single “Crazy in Love,” which not only became a worldwide hit, but it also earned the couple Best R&B Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy Awards in 2004.
When Did Jay-Z and Beyonce Make Their Red Carpet Debut?
Bey and Jay were already notoriously private about their love life, waiting to make their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2004 MTV VMAs in Miami, Florida.
The year prior, Beyoncé explained why she didn’t discuss her love life.
“I don’t actually talk about who I’m dating, who I’m not, because I think it’s important that I concentrate on the music and when you start talking about those things, then that becomes bigger than the art,” she said.
When Did Jay-Z and Beyonce Get Married?
The couple tied the knot in a top-secret ceremony April 4, 2008, at Jay’s Manhattan penthouse.
That same year, Beyoncé told Seventeen, “I really don’t believe that you will love the same thing when you’re 20 as you do at 30. So that was my rule: Before the age of 25, I would never get married. I feel like you have to get to know yourself, know what you want, spend some time by yourself, and be proud of who you are before you can share that with someone else.”
In November 2008, the “Halo” singer shared a similar statement during an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime talk show. “I’m only 27, so I was really young. I feel like it’s important for women and men to have their goals and their own life before they can complete someone else. So, we took our time,” she explained about why she and Jay dated for seven years before getting married.
Beyonce Announces Her 1st Pregnancy With a Mic Drop
The superstar performed her hit “Love on Top” at the 2011 Video Music Awards, opening her purple sequined blazer at the end of the tune to reveal a prominent baby bump. She dropped her microphone and rubbed her belly as the audience went wild with cheers.
Jay-Z and Beyonce Welcome Baby No. 1
Jay and Bey’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter arrived on January 7, 2012. The singer gave birth at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
“Her birth was emotional and extremely peaceful, we are in heaven,” the couple said in a statement at the time. “She was delivered naturally at a healthy 7 lbs. and it was the best experience of both of our lives.”
Beyonce Revealed She Suffered a Pregnancy Loss Before Welcoming Blue Ivy
In her 2013 HBO documentary, Life Is But a Dream, the “Single Ladies” songstress revealed she suffered a pregnancy prior to having Blue Ivy.
“About two years ago, I was pregnant for the first time,” Bey explained. “And I heard the heartbeat, which was the most beautiful music I ever heard in my life … Being pregnant was very much like falling in love. You are so open. You are so overjoyed. There’s no words that can express having a baby growing inside of you, so of course you want to scream it out and tell everyone. [Early into the pregnancy], I flew back to New York to get my check up — and no heartbeat. Literally the week before I went to the doctor, everything was fine, but there was no heartbeat.”
“I learned that all pain and loss is in fact a gift. Having miscarriages taught me that I had to mother myself before I could be a mother to someone else,” Beyoncé told Elle in 2019. “Then, I had Blue, and the quest for my purpose became so much deeper. I died and was reborn in my relationship, and the quest for self became even stronger.”
Beyonce Hints That Jay-Z Was Unfaithful
On her 2016 album Lemonade, Bey had several songs that hinted at Jay cheating on her. The lyric about “Becky with the good hair” in the song “Sorry” had fans everywhere trying to guess who the other woman might be.
On “Pray You Catch Me,” she sang, “You can taste the dishonesty/ it’s on your breath.”
Did Jay-Z Cheat on Beyonce?
The “99 Problems” rapper confirmed he was unfaithful in a November 2017 interview with The New York Times Style Magazine.
“You have to survive. So, you go into survival mode, and when you go into survival mode what happen? You shut down all emotions. So even with women, you gonna shut down emotionally, so you can’t connect,” he explained. “In my case, like, it’s deep. And then all the things happen from there: infidelity.”
Jay confessed that listening to Lemonade made him “very, very uncomfortable.”
Jay-Z and Beyonce Announce They’re Expecting Twins
The couple made the happy announcement on February 1, 2017, that they had twins on the way.
Next to a photo of Bey cradling her bare baby bump, the duo wrote, “We would like to share our love and happiness. We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes. – The Carters.”
The couple welcomed daughter Rumi and son Sir in June 2017.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé Go on the Road Again
The duo kicked off their On the Run II tour in Cardiff, England, on June 6, 2018. They previously toured together in 2014, performing songs from both of their catalogs, as well as collaborations.
Jay-Z Calls Out the Recording Academy for Beyonc Not Winning Album of the Year Honors
While accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact award at the 2024 Grammy Awards, Jay shamed the Recording Academy for his wife never winning the prestigious Album of the Year despite four nominations. Beyoncé held the record for most overall Grammy wins, but never took home the award in that category.
“We love y’all. We want y’all to get it right,” he said in his speech. “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.”
