Faking It for the Cameras? Beyonce and Jay-Z ‘Go Out of Their Way’ to Hide ‘Tension’ in Marriage

Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who will celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary in April, have a combined net worth of roughly $3.3 billion, according to Forbes. Their two joint tours — On the Run and On the Run II — earned more than $363 million. “They’re one of those couples who are worth more together than apart,” a source exclusively tells In Touch. “It’s almost as if their marriage has evolved into a business partnership, and they’re just friends now who basically lead separate lives. So whatever tension there may be behind closed doors, they seem to go out of their way to not let the public see it.”

To celebrate the February 20 launch of her new haircare line, Cécred, Beyoncé gave a rare interview. She shared memories from her mother’s hair salon, detailed her personal self-care routine, and opened up about the shocking moment in 2013 when she “decided to just cut all my hair off. It wasn’t an aesthetic choice,” she told Essence, “but it was a very big emotional transformation and metamorphosis that I was going through. Me shedding the expectations put upon me. I just wanted it off. It was very intentional.”

Apparently so were her words. When Beyoncé also spoke about the “liberation” she needed in her life that year, fans were quickly reminded of the devastating claims that emerged during the same period: Headline after headline alleged that husband Jay-Z had cheated on her, something he later confessed was true. 

“Once again, Beyoncé is bringing up Jay-Z’s infidelity. She doesn’t come right out and say it; she alludes to it. It’s subtle, almost as if she continues to remind him of what he did — and that she hasn’t forgotten about it,” says a source. “His cheating cut deep, and she hasn’t forgiven him, and may never.”

The betrayal has haunted her for years, says the source. “Beyoncé was so young when she met Jay-Z [at 18] — she idolized him — then he shattered her world” after their 2008 wedding, as rumors of infidelity emerged. In 2013 — the year after Beyoncé, 42, gave birth to daughter Blue Ivy Carter, 12 — Jay-Z, 54, was accused of having an affair with singer Rita Ora, 33 (who denied it), while rapper and model LIV, 40, claimed he wanted to make her his “in-town” chick. He also partied with models in Belgium as rumors he and Bey were close to divorce surfaced. 

Then, in 2014, video of Bey’s sister, Solange, 37, attacking Jay in an elevator after the Met Gala leaked, sparking reports it was over an alleged affair he had had with designer Rachel Roy, 50. (Rachel denied it.)

Between the Lines

​​When Beyoncé sang about infidelity — and reconciliation — on her 2016 Lemonade album, it confirmed the truth. Jay then copped to it in his 4:44 album lyrics in 2017 — the year they welcomed twins Rumi and Sir, 6 — and later said they didn’t end their marriage thanks to “therapy” and doing “all the work.” 

Now, all these years later, Beyoncé “keeps bringing it up,” says the source — in her music, in the media (in 2018, she wrote a piece for Vogue revealing she’s “been through hell and back” and has “experienced betrayals and heartbreaks”), and now in this new interview. The pain won’t ever go away, says the source. “Her bringing up the cheating is like sticking it to him. It’s like he’ll never live it down. But she would never leave him — they’ve built an empire together, and there’s too much at stake.”