Inside Beyonce's Relationship With Kanye West

Sometimes, the most captivating relationships of our time have very little to do with romance — at least, not directly. Take superstar Beyoncé and rapper Kanye West, for instance. Over the course of nearly two decades, Yeezy and Bey have been involved in each other's lives by proxy of Jay-Z, Kanye's collaborator and mentor since 2001, and Beyoncé's partner since 2003. Whether they like it or not, both Queen Bey and the man known as Ye are forever linked — which means that fans, followers, and tabloids will forever compulsively scrutinize that link. 

Suffice it to say, three might be company, but ever since former reality star Kim Kardashian West entered into the fray in 2012 when she started dating her now-husband Kanye, four is the fodder for hot goss, public speculation, and headline-making drama. This is to say that the relationship between Kanye West and Beyoncé might be complex, but it's also very well-documented. What's the story between Ye and Bey? Let's take a look.

While Kanye West and Beyoncé have ostensibly known each other ever since the "Lemonade" performer and icon started dating her now-husband Jay-Z in 2003, the first major public event involving the two occurred in 2009, during the now-infamous incident in which Yeezy hijacked Taylor Swift's 2009 VMA acceptance speech exclaiming that it was Beyoncé, not T. Swift, who deserved the award. Though Kanye might have intended it to be a supportive gesture, Beyoncé's reaction said otherwise.

But the major conflict between Beyoncé and Kanye (and, by extension, their partners) came to a head publicly after Bey and Jay-Z were no-shows at the nuptials of Yeezy and Kim Kardashian West. At the time, Kim's mother Kris Jenner chalked it up to the fact that all parties "assumed they [Beyoncé and Jay-Z] were working" and that their absence "was the last thing on anyone's mind," but what followed was, by all appearances, an on-again, off-again estrangement between both power couples. 

Despite Kris's early assurances, Kanye was later singing an entirely different tune. In a May 2018 interview with Charlamagne Tha God on The Breakfast Club, Yeezy finally expressed his dismay at the slight. "I was hurt about them not coming to the wedding," he admitted. "I understand he [Jay] was going through some things, but if it's family, you're not going to miss a wedding." He also vented about the Knowles-Carters not being supportive after Kim was robbed at gunpoint, per Entertainment Tonight.

In September 2018, Vanity Fair reported that the feud between the two couples was by all accounts officially over, citing a now-deleted post on Kanye's Instagram account which featured a photo of the Carter-Knowles accompanied by the caption "famleeeeee." 

The original Vanity Fair article stated that Beyoncé was wearing a pair of wedge heels purportedly from Ye's own footwear line, which they used as further evidence of a repair in the couple's longstanding rift. But not so fast. The publication later issued a correction, stating that the heels in question were actually from a different label entirely. Despite this, amends seemed to be afoot, intended puns and all.

By December 2018, however, there seemed to have been yet another shift. According to a Cosmopolitan article published that same month, the release of Jay-Z's track "What's Free" (featuring rapper Meek Mill, who has his own complicated relationship with Kanye, and Rick Ross) contained some pretty pointed digs at the "Jesus is King" rapper. Some choice phrases included lines about "red hats" and an "employer" with a "hairpiece" — all suspected allusions to Yeezy's relationship with President Donald Trump. 

While Beyoncé technically wasn't involved with the "What's Free" situation, it's not too far-fetched to imagine that she'd be embroiled in any drama involving her husband and the Kardashian-West brood.

While the situation between Beyoncé and Kanye West remains unclear, things between Queen Bey and Kanye's wife, Kim Kardashian West, seem to be... also unclear. According to a January 2020 update by BuzzFeed, the performer sent the reality television star a large, large orange box containing pieces from her Ivy Park activewear line, and as a thank you, Kim proceeded to post an Instagram video which featured her showcasing choice items, all set to the tune of Beyoncé's anthemic bop "Girls." 

Since then, there's been little news of any subsequent developments regarding the relationship between Beyoncé, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Kim Kardashian West. Considering that Yeezy has his hands full with a rather concerning presidential campaign bid, while Kim has been keeping busy with her advocacy work for prison reform and coping with the stress of pandemic parenting, and Queen Bey herself is basking in the afterglow of her critically acclaimed visual album Black Is King — we have a feeling all will be quiet on the Knowles-Carter-Kardashian-West front for at least a little while.