Beyonce and Jay-Z's anniversary: Looking back at highs and lows of two decades of rollercoaster relationship
Beyonce and Jay-Z are celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary today (April 4). Together they are the music industry's royalty and the power couple's relationship or 'real-ationship' if we might call it is something that everyone has always looked up.
Of course, they have been together for two decades now and have seen the good, bad and the ugly while at it. Despite a fair share of trials and tribulations, their relationship has stood the test of time and today they celebrate the day of their union. Here's a look back at everything they endured over the years.
Beyonce and Jay-Z met for the first time in 2000 when they were seated next to each other on a plane on their way to MTV Spring Break Festival in Cancun. The rapper had released his song '713' in 2018 and it is pretty evident that it was love at first sight for him, at least the lyrics say so, "We played it cool at the pool of the Cancun, VMA/ Confidence you exude make the fools stay away/Me, I played my room, let the fools have they say/Fate had me sittin' next to you on the plane/And I knew straight away."
The two didn't start dating straight away. Beyonce had a boyfriend at the time but Jay-Z and she were connected over the phone for two years. Speculations were rife that the two were together but none of them confirmed it. They did release two songs together in the next couple of years and were also seen together at a lot of industry events.
In 2003, Jay-Z did an interview with Playboy and upon being asked about the singer, he said, "She's beautiful. Who wouldn't wish she was their girlfriend? Maybe one day." In 2004, they turned up at the VMA awards, arm in arm, confirming that they indeed were together. How symbolic!
After four years of courtship, the two said their 'I do-s' in Jay-Z's Manhattan penthouse in a non-traditional and very private ceremony in 2008. In 2011, again at the VMA's, Beyonce broke the news of her pregnancy. During her 'Love on Top' performance, she announced, "I want you to stand up on your feet. I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside me.”
In 2013, the couple took a trip to Cuba to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary and they looked as much in love as ever but cracks in their relationship started showing the following year.
A video surfaced that showed Beyonce's sister Solange attacking Jay-Z while Beyonce stood as a mere spectator. It was around that time that cheating rumors had started doing the rounds. The couple never addressed this in public but when Beyonce dropped her album 'Lemonade' in April 2016, she did make a lot of infidelity references on it. There was a spoken word bit on the song 'Sorry' that went, "What are you going to say at my funeral now that you've killed me? ...Ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks."
The remarkable 'Becky with the good hair' sent fans into an investigative spree to decode the identity of Jay-Z's alleged mistress.
However, the couple was still going strong, at least that is what Beyonce's blog suggested when she posted a photo of Jay-Z backstage at her 'Formation' tour in May 2016.
The following year, the couple announced the arrival of their twins Sir and Rumi. Soon after, Jay-Z did come out to say that he had indeed cheated on his wife and opened up about how they were dealing with it in a candid interview in November 2017. Talking about the consequences of his cheating, he mentioned: "the hardest thing is seeing pain on someone’s face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself.”
They later went on a joint tour called 'On the Run ll' and it was during this time that they renewed their wedding vows. They also surprised fans with the 'Everything is Love' album in June 2018 , their first joint album. Released as 'The Carters', the album went on to win a grammy the following year.
Fast forward to this year, Beyonce's mother commemorated the anniversary with a social media post with a never seen before photograph from the couple's wedding. The couple look very happy in the photograph and we hope that they enjoy many more years of marital bliss.