Beyonce Speaks About Her Children, Relationship with Jay-Z In Rare Interview with GQ
In recent years, Beyoncé has been a bit of an enigma, rarely giving interviews to go along with high profile photoshoots. So when her latest cover story for GQ dropped on Tuesday, fans were excited to get some more insight into the superstar's family life. Knowles spoke with the magazine to, in part, promote her new whiskey line, but spilled a bit about her home life with husband Jay-Z and their three kids; Blue Ivy and twins Rumi and Sir. "Most days I try to wake up at around 6am, squeezing in an hour or two of work before the little ones are up. Parenting while working, I move forward, embracing the beauty and the chaos of it all," she said of her day-to-day When asked more about balancing her home life with the "massive effort and expectations" her work requires of her, Bey touched on how technology has affected her relationship with her husband, before sharing how she tries to keep things normal for their kids. "We live in a world of access. We have access to so much information – some facts, and some complete bulls--t disguised as truth. Our children can FaceTime and see their friends at any given moment. My husband and I? We used calling cards and Skype when we were falling in love," she told the publication. "I couldn’t afford the international hotel bills, so I literally would get international calling cards to call him. Just recently, I heard an AI song that sounded so much like me it scared me. It’s impossible to truly know what’s real and what's not." "One thing I've worked extremely hard on is making sure my kids can have as much normalcy and privacy as possible, ensuring my personal life isn't turned into a brand," she continued. "It's very easy for celebrities to turn our lives into performance art. I have made an extreme effort to stay true to my boundaries and protect myself and my family. No amount of money is worth my peace." She added the only part of her life that "can at times feel like prison" is the fame that comes with the business -- which explains why she goes MIA when she's not promoting anything. "So, when you don’t see me on red carpets, and when I disappear until I have art to share, that's why," she added. According to Beyoncé, she plans her work all around her family's schedule -- explaining she tries to tour only when her children are out of school, so they can come with her and be exposed "to different languages, architecture, and lifestyles." She added they're always with her, including in the studio and dance studios. "Raising three kids isn’t easy. The older they get, the more they become their own individuals with unique needs, hobbies, and social lives. My twins are God-sent," she added. "Parenting constantly teaches you about yourself. It takes a lot of prayer and patience. I love it. It's grounding and fulfilling." Of daughter Blue's interest in the arts, Knowles praised her talent, saying "she is a fantastic editor, painter, and actress" who has "been creating characters since she was three." She added, "She's a natural, but I did not want Blue on stage. Blue wanted it for herself." "She took it seriously and she earned it," she added of her daughter's appearances during her Renaissance tour. "And most importantly, she had fun! We all watched her grow more and more every night before our eyes." Speaking of Renaissance, as well as the more recent release of Cowboy Carter, GQ wondered why she didn't release any music videos or visuals for the albums ... after famously doing them for Beyoncé and Lemonade. "I thought it was important that during a time where all we see is visuals, that the world can focus on the voice. The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, research, and understand," she explained of the decision to move away from that format. "The music needed space to breathe. Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music," she added. "The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years! The music is enough. The fans from all over the world became the visual. We got the visual on tour and from my film." Read her full profile with GQ here.
She also reveals why she hasn't released any visuals for Renaissance and Cowboy Carter in the new profile.
In recent years, Beyoncé has been a bit of an enigma, rarely giving interviews to go along with high profile photoshoots. So when her latest cover story for GQ dropped on Tuesday, fans were excited to get some more insight into the superstar's family life.
Knowles spoke with the magazine to, in part, promote her new whiskey line, but spilled a bit about her home life with husband Jay-Z and their three kids; Blue Ivy and twins Rumi and Sir.
"Most days I try to wake up at around 6am, squeezing in an hour or two of work before the little ones are up. Parenting while working, I move forward, embracing the beauty and the chaos of it all," she said of her day-to-day
When asked more about balancing her home life with the "massive effort and expectations" her work requires of her, Bey touched on how technology has affected her relationship with her husband, before sharing how she tries to keep things normal for their kids.
"We live in a world of access. We have access to so much information – some facts, and some complete bulls--t disguised as truth. Our children can FaceTime and see their friends at any given moment. My husband and I? We used calling cards and Skype when we were falling in love," she told the publication. "I couldn’t afford the international hotel bills, so I literally would get international calling cards to call him. Just recently, I heard an AI song that sounded so much like me it scared me. It’s impossible to truly know what’s real and what's not."
"One thing I've worked extremely hard on is making sure my kids can have as much normalcy and privacy as possible, ensuring my personal life isn't turned into a brand," she continued. "It's very easy for celebrities to turn our lives into performance art. I have made an extreme effort to stay true to my boundaries and protect myself and my family. No amount of money is worth my peace."
She added the only part of her life that "can at times feel like prison" is the fame that comes with the business -- which explains why she goes MIA when she's not promoting anything. "So, when you don’t see me on red carpets, and when I disappear until I have art to share, that's why," she added.
According to Beyoncé, she plans her work all around her family's schedule -- explaining she tries to tour only when her children are out of school, so they can come with her and be exposed "to different languages, architecture, and lifestyles." She added they're always with her, including in the studio and dance studios.
"Raising three kids isn’t easy. The older they get, the more they become their own individuals with unique needs, hobbies, and social lives. My twins are God-sent," she added. "Parenting constantly teaches you about yourself. It takes a lot of prayer and patience. I love it. It's grounding and fulfilling."
Of daughter Blue's interest in the arts, Knowles praised her talent, saying "she is a fantastic editor, painter, and actress" who has "been creating characters since she was three." She added, "She's a natural, but I did not want Blue on stage. Blue wanted it for herself."
"She took it seriously and she earned it," she added of her daughter's appearances during her Renaissance tour. "And most importantly, she had fun! We all watched her grow more and more every night before our eyes."
Speaking of Renaissance, as well as the more recent release of Cowboy Carter, GQ wondered why she didn't release any music videos or visuals for the albums ... after famously doing them for Beyoncé and Lemonade.
"I thought it was important that during a time where all we see is visuals, that the world can focus on the voice. The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, research, and understand," she explained of the decision to move away from that format.
"The music needed space to breathe. Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music," she added. "The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years! The music is enough. The fans from all over the world became the visual. We got the visual on tour and from my film."