Jay-Z Reveals The Unconventional Way He Asked Beyoncé To Be His Girlfriend

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are one of Hollywood’s most famous couples. They are also famously private, keeping most things close to their chests—until now. Some behind-the-scenes info is coming to light about the two, thanks to the rapper’s choice to be more vulnerable in his new HBO docuseries JÄY-Z in 8. While chatting to director Rick Rubin in the show’s third episode, the 56-year-old dissected some of the lyrics in “4:44,” the title track of his 2017 album. Some of the verses referenced his relationship with Beyoncé.

“I probably heard that song less than any song I’d ever written, except for ‘You Must Love Me,'” the star admitted. “Just listening to it is hard. Doing it was difficult enough. Then hearing it back.”

The 25-time Grammy Award-winning rapper explained it was about how he and the “Dangerously in Love” singer officially got into a relationship back in the early 2000s.

“I said: ‘Don’t embarrass me’ instead of ‘Be mine’ / That was my proposal for us to go steady / That was your 21st birthday / You matured faster than me, I wasn’t ready / So I apologize,” the music mogul recounted while rapping his lyrics.

“That’s how we start going together,” he revealed. “I was so immature and so afraid to be vulnerable that I like this person. I like this woman. And I’m like, ‘How do we take the step from just talking on the phone and being friends to boyfriend and girlfriend?’” the artist recalled.

For reference, during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013, Beyoncé explained that she and Jay-Z talked on the phone for a year and a half as friends before going on a date and leveling up their relationship.

He continued in the documentary, “And instead of saying, ‘Let’s try this thing, boyfriend and girlfriend…’ I was like, ‘Don’t embarrass me.’ It’s like, are you asking me to be your girlfriend? That was the only way I could get to being vulnerable like that.”

Queen Bey wasn’t here for Hov’s makeshift girlfriend proposal, and, as he recalls, was “able to see, ‘Oh, you struggling with this? Let me help you out with it.’ Because that’s a horrible [dating] proposal.”

As for a later marriage proposal, those details remain between the two. They secretly wed on April 4, 2008.

She first met Jay when she was 18, but they didn’t start dating until she was around 19. Fans were confused about the status of their relationship as the tight-lipped couple made their art, including their different collaborations, the focal point.

Dating rumors got louder in 2001 when they were featured on the cover of Vanity Fair’s November music issue. They continued collaborating on hits like “’03 Bonnie & Clyde” and “Crazy in Love.” However, their red-carpet debut wasn’t until August 2004 at the MTV VMAs in Miami.

Bey and Jay have continued to win in business, love, and family, and remain couple goals for many. They celebrated 18 years of marriage in April.