Beyonce And Jay-Z Have A Bigger Age Gap Than We Remember
It's no exaggeration to say that Beyoncé and Jay-Z have been the music industry's biggest power couple since the 2000s. The Carters are notorious for maintaining their privacy by scarcely doing interviews, but instead giving their fans insight into their personal lives through their music. On his song "4:44," for example, Jay-Z raps about asking Beyoncé to "go steady" ahead of her 21st birthday party. And on "713," which appears on the couple's joint album "Everything is Love," he recounts the moment he first crossed paths with his future wife.
The two met while filming a Spring Break episode of "TRL" in 2000, and Jay-Z was immediately impressed by Beyoncé. At the time, she was not a solo artist, but still a member of Destiny's Child. "I was like, oh, she's — that's a talented person right there," the veteran rapper told Charlie Rose in 2007. Their first meeting happened when Beyoncé was 18, but they didn't get together right away. "We were friends first for a year and a half before we went on any date," Beyoncé explained on an episode of "Oprah's Next Chapter." "That foundation is so important for a relationship."
While they might've waited until she was around 19 years old to strike up a romance, that doesn't change the fact that he's a bit older. When they started dating, Jay-Z was 31, which means there's a 12-year age gap between them.
Beyonce and Jay-Z have been through many ups and downs
An age gap in a relationship may raise red flags in some cases, but the Carters have been a powerhouse team for decades. Beyoncé and Jay-Z got married in a private ceremony at their home in 2008 and welcomed their first child, Blue Ivy Carter, in 2012.
It hasn't always been easy. After the release of 2016's "Lemonade," Beyoncé's seminal album that follows the journey of a woman who has been cheated on, rumors and suspicions about her marriage surfaced. In a 2017 interview with The New York Times, Jay-Z alluded to being unfaithful without getting into specifics, telling the interviewer, "The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone's face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself." The couple has since renewed their vows to celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary, released a joint album, and welcomed twins Sir and Rumi Carter. The family of five traveled the world together during Beyoncé's Renaissance tour.
Over the years, they've taken on various business ventures, racked up awards, embarked on a massive joint tour, continued to run their respective music companies, and more. And yes, the Carters have been by each other's side through it all. Needless to say, the age gap hasn't gotten in the way of their success — just ask their bank accounts. To quote their song "Family Feud," "What's better than one billionaire? Two."