Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s Early Quotes About Their Relationship Are So Sweet

Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s relationship dates back over two decades. The two met when Beyoncé was 18 years old and a member of Destiny’s Child, and they soon dubbed themselves the “’03 Bonnie & Clyde.” Now, with three children and a global empire between them, they’re regarded as perhaps music’s biggest power couple. But in the early days of their relationship, they held special places in each other’s hearts.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z first started their relationship in the early 2000s

Beyoncé rose to fame in the late 1990s as part of the hit-making girl group Destiny’s Child. The group actually was first formed in the early 1990s under the name Girls Tyme. Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland were a part of the group from the beginning.

At the same time Destiny’s Child’s star was rising, Jay-Z had already established himself as the hottest new rapper in the game. He was The Notorious B.I.G.’s contemporary in Brooklyn and showed that he was a force to be reckoned with from his debut album, 1996’s Reasonable Doubt.

The two were friends for a year and a half after meeting before they started dating. They married in secret in April 2008.

Quotes Beyoncé and Jay-Z have said about their relationship

Over the years, Beyoncé and Jay-Z have spoken publicly about their relationship and how they came to have such a strong connection.

In a 2008 interview with Seventeen magazine, Beyoncé spoke about how even though their relationship and lives appeared pristine on the outside, it doesn’t mean they don’t deal with tough times.

“We’re all human,” she said, according to PopSugar. “I don’t care if you’re picture-perfect on every magazine cover, and you’re the most handsome, successful, coolest guy — you still get sad, and you still get your feelings hurt, and you still get confused and vulnerable and nervous and scared. You have to find a person you can make it through the tough times with.”

The two appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair’s 2001 Music Issue together. In a 2013 interview with the magazine, Jay-Z admitted that they were “just beginning to try to date each other” when they appeared on the magazine cover together. “Well, you know, you’ve got to try first,” he said of his efforts to court Bey. “You got to dazzle … wine and dine.”

Beyoncé gushed about their marriage in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey on an episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter. I would not be the woman I am if I did not go home to that man. It just gives me such a foundation,” she said. “He has helped me on so many levels … just to have someone that you just like is so important. And someone that is honest.”

Their marriage has been through ups and downs

Some of the lowest points of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s marriage have been broadcast to the public over the years. In 2014, Beyoncé’s sister Solange famously punched Jay-Z in an elevator in New York. Two years later, Beyoncé released her seminal album Lemonade, which told the story of her journey from being betrayed to finding happiness with her husband again.

The following year, Jay-Z released his own album, 4:44. The year after that, they showed their unity with the joint album aptly titled Everything Is Love.