Beyoncé and Jay-Z have one of the most famous yet most private relationships in the world. And while we're usually begging for scraps of information about the couple through their song lyrics, a timeline of their courtship has gotten clearer and clearer over the years.
We've compiled everything you need to know about the Carters and their relationship, including babies, a secret wedding, and even allegations of infidelity.
1999-2000: The pair met
Jay and Bey historians remain torn on the exact date they met, but Beyoncé told Seventeen Magazine that they were introduced when she was 18, so that would have been somewhere between September of 1999 and August of 2000.
2001: They began dating
Though they did not confirm it at the time, Jay-Z later admitted that the pair began dating sometime in 2001, the same time they both appeared on a Vanity Fair shoot. Beyoncé said they began their romance by spending "a year and a half" on the phone.
“We were friends first for a year and a half before we went on any dates,” she told Oprah Winfrey in an OWN interview later. “We were on the phone for a year and a half, and that foundation is so important for a relationship. Just to have someone who you just like is so important."
2002: They began collaborating
Though they were still trying to convince the world that they were not dating, they released their track "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" and filmed a music video together in their first collaboration of many to come.
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