On this day (April 4) in 2008, Beyoncé and Jay-Z got married in a private ceremony at Jay-Z's apartment in New York City.
Attendees included Beyoncé's former Destiny's Child group mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Willaims as well as Gwyneth Paltrow and then-husband Chris Martin. Jay and Bey later shared footage from the event during their joint On The Run tour.
The romance between Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) went public when she guested on his track "03 Bonnie & Clyde" from his 2002 album, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse. Yet, the pair met when she was 18, around 1999 and 2000, and they started dating about a year later. "I was 18 when we first met, 19 when we first started dating," she told Seventeen magazine. "There was no rush - no one expected me to run off and get married."
It wasn't until August 2004 that Beyoncé and Jay-Z first made their red carpet debut at the MTV Video Music Awards that year in Miami. They also both picked up awards that evening.
On his birthday on Dec. 4, 2007, Jay-Z proposed to Beyoncé with a ring that was reportedly worth $5 million.
The couple has three children. Daughter Blue Ivy was born in January 2012, with twins Rumi and Sir arriving in June 2017. In 2018 they renewed their vows to celebrate their 10th anniversary.
Yet, the pair has had some struggles. In 2014, footage of a fight between Jay-Z and Beyoncé's sister, Solange, turned up online. In the clip, Solange is seen hitting Jay-Z while the three were in an elevator. Rumors claimed that Solange was angry because Jay-Z allegedly cheated on Beyoncé.
In an attempt to quell the rumors, the trio issued a joint statement that said: "There has been a great deal of speculation about what triggered the unfortunate incident. But the most important thing is that our family has worked through it. Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred. They both acknowledge their role in this private matter that has played out in the public. They both have apologized to each other and we have moved forward as a united family. The reports of Solange being intoxicated or displaying erratic behavior throughout that evening are simply false. At the end of the day families have problems and we're no different. We love each other and above all we are family. We've put this behind us and hope everyone else will do the same."
More rumors surfaced in April 2016, with the release of Beyoncé's Lemonade. It featured the songs "Hold Up," "Don't Hurt Yourself" and "Sorry," which seemed to address alleged infidelity as well as forgiveness.
In November 2017, Jay-Z spoke about his marriage and his alleged affair in an interview with T: The New York Times Style Magazine. "You know, most people walk away, and like divorce rate is like 50 percent or something 'cause most people can't see themselves. The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone's face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself," he said.
Yet, the couple seems to be on solid ground lately. Back in February at the Grammy Awards, Jay-Z called out the Recording Academy for snubbing Beyoncé while he accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.
"We love y'all. We want y'all to get it right," he said. "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," he said.
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