10 Red Flags In Beyoncé And Jay-Z's Relationship You Can't Ignore

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are two of the most successful musicians of all time. They've both found commercial and critical success, with over 10 No. 1 hits and over 50 Grammys between the two of them. Beyoncé and Jay-Z also live an insanely glamorous life thanks to the billions of dollars they share. From the outside looking in, Jay-Z and Beyoncé couldn't have it any better. 

But all that glitters is not gold. "It's not just a celebrity couple. We were never a celebrity couple, we were a couple who just happened to be celebrities. We're real people," Jay-Z said on an episode of "The Van Jones Show." Like other real people, Beyoncé and Jay-Z have had their issues, and it seems that they still do. From a cheating scandal that shook their entire foundation to other rifts they've had to repair, here are all the red flags in Beyoncé and Jay-Z's relationship you can't ignore. 

Plenty of couples have age gaps, and many can make their relationship work despite it. It's important, however, to note how old each person in the couple was when they first got together. Jay-Z and Beyoncé first met when the top Grammy winner of all time was just 18 years old. While both have said that they were friends for about a year and a half before they started dating, Jay-Z is 11 years older than his wife, putting him in his early 30s when they met. Jay-Z and Beyoncé have a bigger age gap than we remember, and that, coupled with Beyoncé's age when they met and started dating, has led many to accuse Jay-Z of grooming Beyoncé.

Fueling those grooming accusations was a resurfaced video of Beyoncé toasting Jay-Z on his birthday in 2006. The two weren't yet married, but they had been together for years at that point. Beyoncé would have been 25, and Jay-Z would have been turning 37. "You've taught me so many things. I was 20 years old when we first started dating. You taught me how to be a woman, you taught me how to live. You taught me how to be a friend," Beyoncé said. "You've given me so much in life ... and ... this is, it's not enough. It's not enough I can give you." Many took issue with Beyoncé's comments, citing her note about Jay-Z teaching her "how to be a woman" as evidence of unhealthy dynamics within their relationship as a result of grooming.

There's no denying that Beyoncé has worked hard. It would be impossible to achieve everything she has without hard work. But it seems at times it has been detrimental to her relationship with her husband. Hints at this first surfaced in 2006 when Jay-Z released his album "Kingdom Come." On it was the song "Lost Ones," and lyrics read, "I don't think it's meant to be, B / But she loves her work more than she does me / And honestly, at 23 / I would probably love my work more than I did she." Jay-Z later addressed the lyrics and confirmed that they were about Beyoncé, but he seemed to express that they were a bit misinterpreted.

Beyoncé has addressed her work ethic, too. In a 2024 interview with GQ, the star touched on how much her approach to work has changed over the years, noting that her intense work ethic affected everyone in her life. "I am proud of what I have been able to do, but I also recognize the sacrifices — mine and my family's. There was a time when I was pushing myself to meet unrealistic deadlines, while not taking the time to enjoy the benefits of why I was working so hard," Beyoncé said. While she didn't specify what those sacrifices were, she could've been hinting at the strain in her relationship, given Jay-Z's prior comments. Beyoncé seems to have a healthier work-life balance now, though. "I have worked harder than anyone I know. And now I work smarter," she said.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé have three children — Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir Carter — but it seems they almost only had their first. Beyoncé and Jay-Z have had well-documented struggles in their marriage, and, according to sources, the couple only stayed together because of their oldest, Blue Ivy. "If it's wasn't [sic] for Blue Ivy, they might not be together," a source said to People in 2017. "It was very rough for them to stay married. It took Beyoncé a long time to trust again. She was struggling to move on and forgive. But keeping her family together was very important."

Having twins apparently saved their relationship again. According to sources, Jay-Z and Beyoncé wanted to expand their family after having Blue Ivy, but they had difficulties becoming pregnant a second time. The conception issues reportedly took a toll on their relationship, though things improved when Beyoncé learned she was pregnant. "Everyone working with them felt like you could cut the tension with a knife," a source told Life & Style in 2017. "The pregnancy has renewed their relationship." Now, Blue Ivy is growing up fast, and her siblings are right behind her. While having children seems to have added joy to Beyoncé and Jay-Z's relationship, they didn't have kids just to save a potentially failing marriage. Many couples have a baby thinking that it will strengthen their relationship, but bringing a child into an unstable situation usually makes things worse.

Rumors of infidelity between Beyoncé and Jay-Z swirled for years. There was speculation in the 2000s that the couple had broken up because of Jay-Z's relationship with Rihanna, a woman he famously mentored at the start of her career. There was also speculation in 2014 that some infidelity had taken place in their marriage after Beyoncé changed the lyrics to her song "Resentment" during a live performance. But in 2016, Beyoncé dropped the critically acclaimed album "Lemonade," which was riddled with lyrics all but confirming that Jay-Z had stepped out. The most famous line of the album came from "Sorry": "He better call Becky with the good hair."

Although Becky with the good hair became a cultural phenomenon (there's still speculation as to who exactly Becky is), it was the least damning of all of Beyoncé's bars. "Sorry" also included the line, "Looking at my watch, he shoulda been home / Today I regret the night I put that ring on," indicating her remorse over their marriage. In "Love Drought," Beyoncé sang, "Are you aware you're my lifeline, are you trying to kill me? / 
If I wasn't me, would you still feel me? / 
Like on my worst day? Or am I not thirsty enough?" giving listeners an illustration of how hurt she was because of her deep connection with Jay-Z. Judging by the lyrics, the infidelity took an enormous toll on Beyoncé and Jay-Z's relationship.

In the year after Beyoncé released "Lemonade," Jay-Z released his own album, "4:44," and in it he seemingly confirmed that he had been unfaithful to his wife. "Look, I apologize / Often womanize / Took for my child to be born to see through a woman's eyes," Jay-Z rapped on the title track, the line being one of the most poignant on the album. 

Later that year, Jay-Z fully admitted to cheating on Beyoncé in the past in an interview with T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Jay-Z said that pain he'd experienced in the past led him to make poor decisions. "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 ... In my case, like it's, it's deep. And then all the things happen from there: infidelity," the rap mogul said. "The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone's face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself."

Other lyrics in Beyoncé's album, "Lemonade," led listeners to believe that she won't tolerate another cheating scandal and that she'll be on high alert. And she's right to be vigilant: A Denver University study showed that those who've cheated in the past are at a higher risk of doing it again. Hopefully, for the sake of his marriage, Jay-Z took his wife's warning seriously.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé are notoriously private — the two rarely participate in interviews, with Beyoncé speaking publicly far less than Jay-Z. But plenty of sources have spoken on their behalf in the past, claiming that their marriage was close to being over. While some couples who experience infidelity don't even consider divorce, Jay-Z and Beyoncé were allegedly not one of those couples. "They are trying to figure out a way to split without divorcing," a source told Page Six in 2014 when they were gearing up for their joint On the Run Tour. "There are no rings, if you haven't noticed ... After a while, Jay was out doing Jay and Bey was out doing Bey."

The public may never know just how close to divorce Jay-Z and Beyoncé were (again, they keep their personal life very private), but Jay-Z has confirmed that he and his wife had to work to stay together. "You can either address it or you pretend until it blows up at some point," Jay-Z said on an episode of "The Van Jones Show." "For us, we chose to fight for our love, for our family to give our kids a different outcome — to break that cycle for black men and women." The rapper also noted why it was so important to him to keep his marriage together. "That's my soul mate. It's the person I love," he said.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z were committed to making their relationship work, but they weren't able to do it all on their own. The couple needed to go to therapy to work out the issues in their relationship. Jay-Z opened up about his experience in therapy for an interview with T: The New York Times Style Magazine. According to the rapper, he and Beyoncé attended sessions together after the cheating incident. "I grew so much from the experience. But I think the most important thing I got is that everything is connected. Every emotion is connected and it comes from somewhere," Jay-Z said. "And just being aware of it. Being aware of it in everyday life puts you at such a ... you're at such an advantage." Jay-Z also mentioned that his and Beyoncé's music helped them, too. "We were using our art almost like a therapy session. And we started making music together," he said.

While Beyoncé and Jay-Z seem to have grown from their time in therapy, it's still a bit concerning that there were issues that caused them to need outside help. Studies show that about 30% of all couples who attend therapy together break up after, so the chance still remains for the superstar musicians to break up. Hopefully Beyoncé and Jay-Z are still employing the tools they learned in therapy to help them resolve any new or lingering issues.

Most families spend quite a bit of time together, so it's important to find a partner who's liked by their kin. In 2014, a video surfaced of Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and her sister, Solange Knowles, on an elevator together after the Met Gala, and the footage made it seem as though things between Jay-Z and Knowles were at a low. The clip showed Knowles seemingly attacking Jay-Z, with Beyoncé and security intervening. After the clip went public, the three of them released a statement. "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," they said, as reported by the Associated Press.

As time went on and fans learned more about the timeline of Jay-Z's affairs, many speculated that Knowles was upset with Jay-Z for cheating on her sister, though none of the three involved have ever directly confirmed the impetus. Beyoncé and Jay-Z have both seemingly referred to the incident in their music, though, with the most famous reference coming from Beyonce in "***Flawless (Remix)." "Of course, sometimes s**t go down / When it's a billion dollars on an elevator," she sang. Jay-Z and Knowles have both since claimed to be on good terms with each other, but the past tension could be a lingering issue between the married couple.

Given Jay-Z's history, it's understandable why Beyoncé would be extra vigilant of how her husband interacts with other women. And according to reports, Beyoncé gets jealous when women have questionable encounters with Jay-Z. Actor Tiffany Haddish shared a story with "Uncensored" in 2018 of seeing Bey's jealousy first-hand. "I was talking to Jay-Z for a little bit. And there was another actress that was there who was also talking to Jay-Z," Haddish explained, per People. "[The actress] touched Jay-Z's chest and Beyoncé came walking up like ...'B***h!' But, she didn't say that. But her demeanor, her body from the way she walked up on them said, 'Get your hands off my man's chest.'"

It seems that maybe Beyoncé has grown a bit from that interaction, but she still isn't going to tolerate any inappropriate behavior from her husband or other women. For her 2024 country album "Cowboy Carter," Beyoncé covered Dolly Parton's classic song "Jolene," but Beyoncé changed some of the lyrics to reflect her stance on women approaching Jay-Z. "You're beautiful, beyond compare / Takes more than beauty and seductive stares / To come between a family and a happy man," Beyoncé sang. "You don't want no hеat with me, Jolene," she added. A little jealousy may be healthy, but hopefully it doesn't lead to paranoia for Beyoncé.

Things for Jay-Z and Beyoncé took a dark turn in late 2024: In December, Jay-Z was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl. The accusation came in a refiling of a lawsuit that originally named Sean "Diddy" Combs as a defendant, this time including Jay-Z. The rapper vehemently denied the accusation.

While Beyoncé has yet to comment on the matter, Jay-Z chose to include his kids in a lawsuit defense that some found disturbing. "My only heartbreak is for my family," Jay-Z told E! News. "My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people." Because the case is a civil suit, Jay-Z's punishment, should he be found in the wrong would, most likely be restitution. However, if criminal charges were to be brought against Jay-Z and he were to serve time for a crime, that could present trouble for Jay-Z and Beyoncé's relationship. Statistics have shown that most marriages end in divorce if one of the parties is incarcerated. For the time being, however, Beyoncé has subtly proven she's standing by Jay-Z.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).