Behind the Musical Marriage of Jay-Z and Beyoncé

There are power couples and then there are Power Couples. For Jay-Z and Beyoncé, their relationship falls into the latter. The two globally famous people, for example, are worth a combined $3 billion. …We’ll give you a minute to clean up the water you just spit out.

But how did they get here? How did Jay and B become the Platonic Ideal of a Power Couple? Let’s dive into the answer to that question below.

[RELATED: We Asked A.I. to Write a Song in the Style of Jay-Z and Beyoncé – Check the Results]

This is the story of the musical marriage between Jay-Z and Beyoncé

The Year 2000

Jay-Z and Beyoncé started dating with Queen B was still a burgeoning artist working with Destiny’s Child. Jay was in his early 30s and Beyoncé was 19. She told Seventeen in 2008 that the two met in 2000 when she was 18 and started dating when she was 19. B also told Oprah, “We were friends first for a year and a half before we went on any dates.”

Later, in 2001, Jay told Vanity Fair they were starting to date, adding, “Well, you know, you’ve got to try first. You got to dazzle… wine and dine…She’s a charming Southern girl, you know, she’s not impressed… But I would have definitely had to be this cool.”

Music Arrives

The two worked together early on in 2000 for the music video for singer Amil’s song, “I Got That,” which featured Beyoncé. Jay-Z directed the music video.

Then, ahead of any children or family, Jay-Z and Beyoncé created music together, including their first hit single, “’03 Bonnie & Clyde,” in 2002. Later in 2003, the two released “Crazy in Love” and in 2006, they released the song “Déjà Vu.” In 2013, they released the song “Drunk in Love,” and the track “Part II (On the Run).”

In subsequent years, the two have gone on massive joint tours, and in 2018, under the name The Carters, the couple released their debut album together, the Grammy-winning Everything Is Love.

Marriage

Finding that they were a fit, both in life and in music, the two wed in 2008. They had a secret wedding, which both enjoyed. Talking to Vibe in 2008, Jay said, “You’ll go insane in this type of business. You have to have something that’s sacred to you and the people around you.”

Welcoming Their First Child

On January 7, 2012, Jay and Beyoncé welcomed a baby daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Prior to the birth of their child, Queen B said she’d experienced a miscarriage.

She explained in her documentary, Life Is But a Dream, “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. [Early into the pregnancy] I flew back to New York to get my checkup — and no heartbeat. Literally, the week before I went to the doctor, everything was fine, but there was no heartbeat.”

Rocky Road + Lemonade

In 2016, Beyoncé released her iconic album, Lemonade, which fueled some divorce rumors between her and Jay. Lyrics on the record seemed to imply that Jay cheated on his wife, and earlier videos from 2014 at the Met Gala that year, with Beyoncé’s sister Solange, added to the fire. Beyoncé, however, shut down the rumors of a split, noting that the two would solve their issues in-house.

More Children

In 2017, Beyoncé announced that she was pregnant with twins, saying on Instagram, “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.”

Those twins, Rumi and Sir Carter, were born on June 13, 2017.

Ever since the tumult, the two seem to be on the best of footing as a couple. Jay-Z seems to have dedicated himself to his partner and to understanding why he was not faithful to her. He even talked about it on his acclaimed 2017 LP, 4:44. He’s grown his hair out to celebrate his roots and he’s embraced age and wisdom.

Meanwhile, Beyoncé is breaking Grammy records and continuing on her path as queen of the world of culture, thanks, in part, to her latest album, Renaissance.

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy