They're one of the most famous couples in the music industry but Beyoncé and Jay Z have faced many challenges in their marriage - including split rumours.
The couple have put on a united front after it emerged that Jay Z, real name Shawn Corey Carter, faces serious accusations in a civil lawsuit that alleges he raped a 13-year-old after the 2000 MTV Music Video Awards ceremony, along with Sean 'Diddy' Combs. The 55-year-old musician has vehemently de nied the allegations.
Jay Z and Beyoncé first met at the turn of the millennium, with their 2003 duet Crazy in Love becoming one of the defining tracks of the '00s. Fans couldn't get enough of the megastar power couple, who tied the knot in 2008. However, according to a Beyoncé biographer, there have been a few bumps in the road, with the Carters having allegedly parted ways for a year in 2005.
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Getty Images for Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100)This is according to the 2015 biography Becoming Beyoncé by J Randy Taraborrelli, who claimed that the break up occurred at around the same time that Jay scouted Rihanna, as rumours of an alleged affair began to swirl. At the time, Taraborrelli told Entertainment Tonight: "Beyoncé didn't know what to make of this, and it actually ended up breaking them up for a time. They spent maybe a year apart from each other because Beyoncé just wasn't sure of what to make of the situation with Rihanna."
Defending these explosive claims in an interview with BBC's Newsbeat, Taraborrelli, who didn't speak with Beyoncé while writing the book, claimed that he spoke with old friends, and those who'd worked with the star when she was younger, as well as those close to her now.
Taraborrelli revealed: "Well, my job as a biographer is to take a look at all of the persistent rumours and see if it is possible to unpack them. We found the publicist who was working for one of Rihanna's producers. His job was to promote Rihanna's first single Pon de Replay.
"In that capacity he began to float the untrue story that Rihanna and Jay were having an affair. This was not true. We interviewed him, and he confessed that he planted that story in an effort to promote Rihanna."
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CBS via Getty Images)This account was later confirmed by the former publicist Jonathan Hay, who has since publicly apologised to Jay Z and Beyoncé. According to Taraborrelli, who has refused to name his informants, his sources "have nothing to gain by talking to me and often they have a lot to lose".
He continued: "This is my 18th book. I've had 14 bestsellers, so I and my research team, we really have a sort of gut for this work. I can tell when somebody is being honest. Everybody is interviewed and re-interviewed and then their stories are compared with other stories of people who were in the same situations. So we really do a lot of work to corroborate everything that we hear." Neither Jay Z or Beyonce have publicly responded to the claims around the alleged split.
Earlier this week Jay Z was seen stepping out with his wife, Beyoncé and their daughter Blue Ivy, 12, to attend the red carpet premiere of Mufasa: The Lion King as a united family, mere hours after sharing his heartache at having to inform his three children about the allegations he faces.
Describing the allegations as "blackmail" in a lengthy statement, the father-of-three branded the claimant's lawyer Tony Buzbee as a "fraud", writing: "These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case. This lawyer, who I have done a bit of research on, seems to have a pattern of these type of theatrics!"
He continued: "My only heartbreak is for my family. 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.
"I mourn yet another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit. Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable."
In a response on Tuesday, lawyer Tony Buzbee described the allegations that he tried to blackmail the rapper as "bogus" and he intends to address all of the allegations in court. He said: "Let me be clear: We will not be bullied or intimidated by these shenanigans. And our clients won't be silenced."
He added: "No one has made any threats. Jay Z's assertions are bogus and laughable. Instead, our firm sent a standard demand letter seeking a mediation on behalf of a woman who alleges Jay-Z sexually assaulted her as a minor."
"The letter was vetted and approved by our client, whose preference was to attempt resolution short of filing a lawsuit. This approach is common in these types of cases. What you are seeing played out now is a coordinated and desperate effort to focus the public's attention on me personally to avoid attention on the allegations being made by my clients."
The lawsuit was originally filed in New York's Southern District back in October against Diddy, who currently facing criminal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, as well as a string of sexual abuse allegations. The suit was refiled on Sunday, December 8, naming the Empire State of Mind artist as a defendant over an alleged incident at an MTV Awards afterparty.
Jay-Z's accuser, identified only under the pseudonym Jane Doe, has claimed the alleged incident took place after the awards event and in the presence of Diddy. The now 37-year-old claimant has asked for a jury trial and is seeking compensatory damages for "all physical injuries, emotional distress, psychological harm, anxiety, humiliation, physical and emotional pain and suffering, family and social disruption, and other harm".
Meanwhile, Diddy is currently being held behind bars at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Centre, with his trial set to begin in May 2025. Since the Bad Boy Record founder's initial arrest, it's said upwards of 120 victims have come forward, but Diddy maintains his innocence. In a statement by his legal team, they said he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus.
His team said: "Mr Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors. He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation."
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