Jay-Z and Beyoncé grew up in different worlds. She grew up in a well-off family in Houston, while he spent his early teenage years dealing drugs in his Brooklyn neighborhood. He said that his upbringing had an impact on the way he faced the world as an adult. He felt emotionally closed off, but he tried to be more open with Beyoncé when they began a relationship.
Jay-Z said he was emotionally distant before meeting Beyoncé
Jay-Z and his father were estranged for much of his life. He said this had a profound impact on the way he interacted with the people around him.
“When I was young, the person I looked up to the most was my father, and once I experienced that hurt, the separation from the guy you thought was Superman, you never want to feel that hurt again,” he told Rolling Stone. “So no matter what relationships you have later on, I protected myself and my feelings.”
He ultimately reconciled with his father shortly before his death, which he said was a massive relief to him.
“When we had that conversation, it came full circle, and I was able to release all of that anger. It freed me up tremendously,” he said. “He passed away two months later. If it had never happened, I don’t know how I’d be.”
Still, he said he remained a closed-off person.
“I was just really closed,” he said. “I was a cool person, but I wouldn’t let people get too close to me.”
Jay-Z said he tried to open up to Beyoncé
He said that his aloofness wasn’t noticeable to his family, because they were all similar.
“Not my family, because they’re all like that,” he said. “Every single one of them.”
Beyoncé, however, took notice. He said that in his relationship with her, he tried to work through any emotional issues and connect on a deeper level. It wasn’t easy, but it was something she likely wanted of him.
“I’m sure she thinks I’m closed-off,” he said. “But I’m workin’ on it. Just trying to deal with emotional issues, taking them on proactively. Before, I wouldn’t even address it.”
She shared what she is like in relationships
Beyoncé and Jay-Z have been together for two decades. Early in their romance, she said that she was a very logical thinker and tried her best to stay levelheaded in her relationships.
“In relationships, I think a lot like a guy,” she told Rolling Stone in 2004. “If I do something wrong, I don’t get emotional. I think about it, and I change it and fix it. I’ve always been very logical.”
Still, she said that her levelheadedness didn’t mean that she was reserved in her relationships. She said that she threw herself wholeheartedly into everything she did, including love.
“When I do anything, I do it,” she said. “If I fall in love, I’m there.”
