American rapper and record producer Jay Z may be having the time of his life with his gorgeous and famous ladylove Beyoncé Knowles and daughter Blue Ivy, but an “explosive new book” claims that the superstar couple faced some difficult times.
The book is alleging that Jay Z and Beyoncé secretly separated amidst rumors of his cheating with then protégé and pop star Rihanna.
Jay Z’s alleged love triangle with Rihanna almost ruined his relationship with Beyonce: book https://t.co/7pV2IIbsX3 pic.twitter.com/vMaL2iIwvQ
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) October 23, 2015
The story was featured in a new unauthorized biography entitled Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story written by bestselling writer J Randy Taraborrelli.
In the book, the power couple, who began dating as early as 2000, reportedly split in 2005 after Jay Z was linked to then 17-year-old Rihanna. However, Taraborrelli noted that the issue was just a “concoction” by RiRi’s publicist, Jonathan Hay, in order to boost Rihanna’s first single “Pon de Replay.” It can be remembered that at the time, the soon-to-be-pop-star signed up with Jay Z’s Def Jam label.
Did Jay Z hook up with Rihanna during a secret break from Beyoncé? https://t.co/0mVnEKJ6K0 pic.twitter.com/SisCBnskhl — MSN UK Entertainment (@msnents) October 22, 2015
“It was all a stunt,” said Hay in the book, although the publicist previously revealed the stunt in several interviews.
The rumor further stated that the only thing that stopped then-35-year-old Jay Z from pursuing an affair with Rihanna was that she was still a minor at the time and that the issue might have made a negative impact on her budding career as a pop singer.
While the alleged cheating scandal was all made up, it reportedly caused trust issues between Beyoncé, 34, and Jay Z, 45. In the book, it “drove a wedge” between the two artists just three years before their wedding.
The made-up cheating issue was then connected to Solange Knowles’ elevator encounter with Jay Z during the Met Gala event last year. The record producer was reportedly planning to party with Rihanna after the event, to which Beyoncé allegedly said no.
As they were leaving, Solange reportedly asked Jay Z, “Why can’t you go home?” However, the rapper allegedly told her to mind her own business, which led to the scuffle.
Meanwhile, other juicy revelations from the unauthorized biography claim that Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, was too overprotective of her daughter. When a 15-year-old Beyoncé was dating a boy from church named Lyndall Locke, Knowles reportedly approached him.
“I can’t make you not have sex,” she told him.
She also told Locke to refrain from doing the deed until Beyoncé turned 18.
It was, however, not evident in the book whether Locke followed Mrs. Knowles’ orders.
However, just a few years later, Jay Z, whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, became friends and exchanged numbers with the former Destiny’s Child member during a benefit concert in New York in 2001.
Carter, who was then 30, was sincerely pursuing the pop star, and he reportedly visited the Knowles residence.
In the next couple of years, Jay Z continued to pursue Beyoncé and even took her on a romantic trip in the south of France.
Still, the “Single Ladies” singer was in constant connection with Locke, whom Taraborrelli claims to have been a real threat to Jay Z back then.
“She couldn’t get Lyndall off her mind,” the author said in his book.
But finally, in 2004, Beyoncé decided to “shut out her ex forever.” Taraborrelli writes that the pop singer couldn’t afford to have Locke be an issue between herself and Jay Z.
The media has already reached representatives of Beyoncé and Jay Z for comment about the controversial book.
Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story will provide a peek inside the star’s life, her career, and Jay Z. It will launch next week in hardcover and audio CD on Amazon as well as other bookstores around the U.S.
[Images by Evan Agostini, Larry Busacca; Getty Images]