Jay-Z and Beyonce have been together for practically their entire adult lives. They met when she was 18 and were friends before they started dating Romantic relationship. Jay-Z said he spent time learning how to date the singer. He admitted that despite all the success in his career, he had to be on top to impress his future wife.
Jay-Z said he had to work hard to win over Beyoncé
In 2001, both Jay-Z and Beyoncé appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair’s Music Issue. He denied they were dating at the time, but said he was trying to get closer to the young singer.
“No, no, we weren’t (dating),” he told her outlet 2013. “We had just started trying to date each other … Yeah, you know, you have to try first. You have to dazzle … wine and dine.”
His reputation may have worked to his advantage in his pursuit of Beyoncé. Still, Jay-Z thought he would have had a chance with her no matter what his career was. She was looking for a personality that impressed her and Jay-Z said he met her high expectations.
“If I’m as cool as I am, yeah, (I had a chance),” he said. “Of course. But she’s a charming southern girl, you know, she’s not impressed… But I definitely needed to be this cool.”
Beyoncé said she was friends with Jay-Z for over a year before they started dating
According to Beyoncé, Jay-Z spent a little over a year trying to impress her.
“We were friends at first for a year and a half before we went on any dates,” she told Oprah Winfrey, per People. “We talked on the phone for a year and a half, and that foundation is so important to a relationship. Just having someone you like is so important, and someone (who) is honest.”
This helped them build a solid foundation. Jay-Z’s friend said he was head over heels for Beyoncé.
“I’ve known the guy for a long time,” his friend said Rolling Stone 2004. “I’ve never seen him run like this. He cares for her, gives her good advice, he wants his woman to look right. They adore each other.”
The couple’s stories about when they met have come under scrutiny
Beyoncé said she and Jay-Z met when she was 18 years old. Recently, however, this claim has came under scrutiny. In 2007, Jay-Z said he met Beyoncé “10 years ago,” which would have been when Beyoncé was 16. He was 28 at the time. He reiterated this in a post on Instagram.
“The first time I saw her she was 16,” he wrote in a caption on Instagram, per Daily Mail. “I had thought in my head ‘she’s going to be mine’, became my best friend … 20 years old, it was time … before you knew it she made me swallow my pride and my own words bit me in a ** … ‘Forever mackin’ – 8 years later, married, one child, she saved me.”
Jay-Z also appeared on the set of a Destiny’s Child music video in 1998. Considering the latest allegations against himhas some questioning the veracity of the timeline of their relationship.
