It all started on a plane to Cancun.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z are no stranger to the spotlight but despite being one of the most well-known duos in the world, they have successfully kept most of their private life, well, private. Still, from their first date at Nobu to their secret wedding, cheating rumors to the birth of their three children, and every musical collaboration in between, here is a complete timeline of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s relationship.
2000: A Plane to Cancun
Not much is known about their first meeting and early relationship, however, Beyoncé once revealed that the pair first met when she was just 18. The couple sat next to each other on a plane while both attending the 2000 MTV Spring Break festival and Jay-Z later rapped about the moment in his 2018 song “Everything Is Love.” He sings, “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.”
2001: First Date at Nobu
After over a year of friendship—and talking on the phone constantly—Beyoncé and Jay-Z decided to test out their relationship romantically. Their first official date was at celeb-favorite restaurant Nobu and according to more lyrics from Jay-Z’s “Everything Is Love,” the rapper brought a friend to dinner. In the song, he called that choice his “first foolish mistake.”
October 10, 2002: ’03 Bonnie & Clyde
But bringing a male friend to dinner didn’t hinder their relationship. In fact, they began collaborating even in the early days of their romance, releasing their first track together in 2002 called “’03 Bonnie & Clyde.”
May 18, 2003: Crazy in Love
Not long after their first collaboration, the superstar couple dropped “Crazy In Love.” With lyrics like “I’ve been playing myself, baby, I don’t care. ’Cause your love’s got the best of me,” the track gave fans another glimpse at their affection for each other and the musical masterpiece even landed the couple a Grammy award the following year.
August 29, 2004: VMA Debut
While Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s relationship was no secret, they confirmed their status when they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.
November 1, 2006: Wedding Fever
In 2006, Beyoncé told Cosmopolitan that she had slight wedding fever—especially after seeing her sister walk down the aisle. “I don’t know when I’ll want to get married. I never pictured myself as a bride, but after my sister’s wedding, I did start thinking about what kind of wedding I’d want. I don’t think I want a big one,” she told the publication. During the interview, she also claimed that her Destiny’s Child bandmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, would be bridesmaids.
April 4, 2008: A Secret Wedding Ceremony
In the world of super-secret celebrity weddings, Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 2008 nuptials take the cake. Without even telling fans that they were engaged, the duo was spotted picking up a marriage license in New York in April 2008 and it was later confirmed Beyoncé and Jay-Z tied the knot on April 4, 2008.
August 28, 2011: Pregnancy Announcement on Stage
In 2011, Beyoncé took to the VMA’s stage to announce another relationship milestone: She’s pregnant! “I want you to stand up on your feet. I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside me,” she shouted to the crowd during her performance of “Love On Top.” Yet, it was later revealed that this was not her first pregnancy. In her documentary Life Is But a Dream, which debuted in 2013, the singer shared details of a previous miscarriage.
January 7, 2012: Blue Ivy Carter Is Born
The Knowles-Carter crew became three when Beyoncé and Jay-Z welcomed daughter Blue Ivy Carter on January 7, 2012.
February 16, 2013: Their Autobiographic Documentary Is Released
Beyoncé released her autobiographical documentary, Life Is But a Dream, in early 2013, which gave fans a never-before-seen look into her private life with Jay-Z and their newborn daughter.
2013: On The Run Is Released in Jay-Z’s Album Magna Carter Holy Grail
That summer, Jay-Z released his album Magna Carter Holy Grail, which features another musical collaboration with his wife, “Part II (On The Run).”
June 25, 2014: On the Run Tour
Despite hints of a rocky relationship, Beyoncé and Jay-Z laid rumors to rest as they embarked on a joint tour during the summer of 2014.
April 4, 2015: Never-Before-Seen Wedding Video
While Jay-Z has since deleted his Instagram account, he shared a never-before-seen wedding video on the couple’s seventh anniversary.
April 23, 2016: Beyoncé Drops Her Album Lemonade
But in 2016, their relationship, and subsequent cheating rumors, were thrown back into the spotlight when Beyoncé dropped her visual album Lemonade. Two songs in particular, “Hold Up” and “Sorry,” allude to infidelity from Jay-Z. Beyoncé sings: “He only want me when I’m not there / He better call Becky with the good hair,” prompting the Bey Hive to wonder who exactly this mysterious “Becky” was. However, “Becky” isn’t an actual person at all, but rather a representation of women everywhere the songstress later explained.
October 7, 2016: Shoutout on Tour
Despite the frenzy that came from Lemonade, Beyoncé proved her relationship with Jay-Z was solid when she gave a shoutout to her husband during the final performance of her Formation World Tour.
February 1, 2017: Another Pregnancy
Few celebrity pregnancy announcements are more iconic than Beyoncé’s 2017 bump debut. Expecting twins, the singer wrote 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.”
June 13, 2017: Rumi and Sir Carter Are Born
On June 13, 2017, Beyoncé and Jay-Z welcome two more children together, daughter Rumi Carter and son Sir Carter.
June 30, 2017: Affair Clues in His Album
The same month, Jay-Z dropped another album entitled 4:44, full of lyrics that hinted at infidelity. He rapped, “I apologize, our love was one for the ages and I contained us / And if my children knew, I don’t even know what I would do / If they ain’t look at me the same / I would prolly die with all the shame.”
November 29, 2017: Jay-Z Admits to Infidelity
In an interview with the New York Times in late 2017, Jay-Z spoke candidly about his personal life, marriage, and rap. When touching upon therapy and his emotional well-being, he commented, “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.” The interviewer then asked, “You can’t connect because of the way you feel about yourself, you mean?” Jay-Z replied, “Yes. In my case, like it’s, it’s deep. And then all the things happen from there: infidelity…”
June 6, 2018: On Tour, Again
On June 6, 2018, the parents of three hit the road again for another joint tour.
June 16, 2018: Their Collaborative Album Is Released
In June 2018, the duo released a debut full-length collaboration album called Everything is Love. Announced on stage at their On the Run II tour, the big screens projected the message, “album out now” at the London Stadium in the U.K. The album was premiered through the streaming service co-owned by Jay-Z called Tidal. Jay-Z commented, “We were using our art almost like a therapy session.” He added, “And we started making music together.”
July 19, 2019: The Album, The Lion King: The Gift, Is Released
Created as her “love letter to Africa,” Beyoncé released the album The Lion King: The Gift for the photorealistic animated film remake of The Lion King as well as for her visual album Black is King later released in 2020. Through Parkwood Entertainment and Colombia Records, the album was produced by Beyoncé and features a variety of African artists, as well as Jay-Z and Blue Ivy Carter amongst many others.
July 31, 2020: The Second Visual Album, Black Is King, Is Released
Beyoncé aired her second visual album, Black Is King, during the summer of 2020. The film featured appearances by both her husband and their three children.
August 23, 2021: The Couple Appears in a Viral Ad for Tiffany & Co.
The power couple served as the face of the iconic jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. in an advertising campaign called ABOUT LOVE. As the very first campaign the couple ever appeared in together, the moment was deemed significant for many reasons.
Centered around “celebrating modern love,” Beyoncé is seen wearing a massive yellow diamond necklace. The 128-carat Tiffany diamond acquired by the company in 1878 was famously worn by Audrey Hepburn for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. She was merely the fourth woman and first black woman to wear the diamond.
Equally monumental, the couple posed in front of the large painting Equals Pi by Jean-Michel Basquait’s. Never seen before by the public, the 1982 artwork derived from a private collection.
Most importantly, Tiffany & Co. pledged $2 million toward scholarships and internship programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in relation with the campaign.
July 29, 2022: Beyoncé Dedicates Renaissance Album to Her Husband and Family
Released in the summer of 2022, Beyoncé’s album Renaissance hit the scene as her seventh studio album by Parkwood Entertainment and Colombia Records. She explained that the album was dedicated and inspired by various family members including her husband, also known as her “muse,” as well as their children. In an Instagram post, she explained that working on the album during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed her to “feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving.” Her intentions were to create a “safe place, a place without judgement.” She added, “A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom.”
February 5, 2023: Beyoncé Breaks the Record for Most Grammy Wins and Thanks Jay-Z and Their Kids
During the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, which were held at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on February 5, 2023, Beyoncé won big: She took home best dance/electronic album for Renaissance, best R&B song for “Cuff It,” best dance-electronic music recording for “Break My Soul,” and best traditional R&B performance for “Plastic off the Sofa.” Those four awards meant she ended the night as the artist with the most Grammys ever—the New York Times reports she now has 32 Grammys under her belt.
As she accepted her fourth award of the night, Beyoncé thanked her husband and their three kids for their unwavering support. “I’d like to thank my beautiful husband, my beautiful three children, who are at home watching,” she said during her brief but emotional speech.
