Jay Z has claimed that his ‘only heartbreak’ is for his family after being accused of r*ping a 13-year-old girl, which has dragged up some uncomfortable questions about the early days of his relationship with his wife Beyonce
The rapper, 55, was hit with a civil lawsuit filed on Sunday that claims he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl on September 7, 2000 after the MTV Video Music Awards with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, but insists he is the victim of a ‘blackmail attempt’ and fears his daughter Blue Ivy, 12, and seven-year-old twins, Rumi and Sir, will have to ‘endure’ harassment.
At the time of the alleged incident, Jay Z, then 30, was in the early stages of wooing Beyonce, who had just turned 19, and was pictured deep in conversation with the Destiny’s Child star at the opening of an Armani exhibition, just weeks after the night in question.
According to Beyoncé, the pair met when she was 18 and were friends before they started dating when she was 19, but contrasting comments from the Young Forever hitmaker suggests he first met his future wife when she was 16 – and vowed that ‘she will be mine’. He was 28 years old at the time.
Indeed, he appears in a backstage photo taken on the set of Destiny’s Child’s video for No, No, No when Beyonce was 16.
Before they became a couple, he’d also been linked to the late R&B singer Aaliyah when she was 20 years old, and fell out with his former business partner Damon Dash for collaborating with R Kelly who married the singer when she was just 15-years-old.
As the power couple prepare to navigate the storm amid the accusations, we take a look at the start of their romance as well as the younger women Jay has been linked to in the past.
In the late ’90s, Jay Z was linked to actress Rosario Dawson, amid rumours they were spotted getting cosy at events. He was around 30 at the time while Rosario was around 20, although they have never confirmed the relationship.
He further went on to confirm he met his now wife when she was 16 as he declared his love for her in a gushing Instagram post in 2013.
Posting under the handle ‘Foundhov’, Jay shared several photos of Beyoncé and then baby daughter Blue Ivy before demonstrating his undying love for his wife.
Captioning one particular snap with some incredibly romantic rhyming, he penned: ‘The way she has changed my life… If I didn’t have her…? Where would I be? Who would I be? Sometime I wonder if I would still be Jay-Z. It’s so surreal.
‘First time I laid eyes on her she was 16. I had thought in my head “she will 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 the a**… “Forever mackin’ – 8 years later, married, one kid. She saved me.’
Meanwhile, a snap of Jay Z posing with Destiny’s Child back in 1998 has been uncovered, with the date revealing that Beyoncé was 16 at the time.
The pair went on to confirm their relationship as they appeared on the cover of Variety magazine back in November 2001, with Jay Z later stating to the publication that they were ‘just beginning to try to date each other’ at the time.
He shared: ‘Well, you know, you’ve got to try first. You got to dazzle… wine and dine’
Detailing how he had to work hard to win her affections, Jay Z added: ‘She’s a charming Southern girl, you know, she’s not impressed… But I would have definitely had to be this cool.’
A year later, Beyoncé goes on to feature on Jay’s huge track 03 Bonnie & Clyde, while in 2003 he rapped on her song Crazy in Love from her debut solo album Dangerously In Love.
The couple went on to tie the knot in a top secret wedding in April 2008.
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