Beyonce Knowles and rapper Jay-Z were secretly married in his New York apartment in April 2008. There were no wedding pictures, and no confirmation from either of the individuals, however. The only clues were their wedding rings which the pair finally started wearing in public. Beyonce’s ring is certainly a stunner at 18 carats and valued at a reported $5 million. The ring is crystal clear, quite unlike the secrecy surrounding the pair’s relationship.According to insiders, Beyonce and Jay-Z are both intensely private people. It took years for the pair to even admit that they were involved in a relationship. Neither of them relishes the paparazzi attention lavished upon them. They want to keep the value of their relationship as far away from prying eyes as possible. Maybe this is wise considering how frequently celebrity spotlight relationships and marriages fail.
Madonna and Sean Penn’s wedding in 1985 was truly a spectacle, with paparazzi flooding the skies in helicopters trying to capture money shots from the wedding. Since then, many celebrities have made a conscious effort to keep weddings a surprise, even from the guests. In many cases, guests are flown to a location for an engagement party, or unspecified get together. Upon arrival, guests realize that they are actually at the wedding. This is a tactic used so that guests do not inform their friends about the wedding date, time or location upon receiving an invitation. This kind of gossip can lead to a private wedding being ruined by peeping cameras. Some celebrities will actually release a wedding date to the press, only to fake them out and get married on an earlier undisclosed date. For publicized weddings, high security is often employed to keep paparazzi out of the actual event. Once the wedding is over, however, all bets are off. The hounding of the paparazzi can ensue. Newlyweds lose their privacy as photographers aim for the newlyweds holding hands and sharing special moments.
Other celebrities who have pulled off the secret wedding include Julia Roberts’ marriage to Danny Moder. Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger had a secret wedding in the Virgin Islands. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony pulled off a successful secret wedding as well in an intimate back yard setting.
Beyonce and Jay-Z did have a highly secretive event. The event took place in the privacy of Jay-Z’s apartment in New York, where nobody would suspect a wedding to happen. Other celebrities to attend the wedding included Mary J. Blige and Russell Simmons. When patrons of his club in Manhattan tried to congratulate Jay-Z shortly after the big day, he claimed to have no idea what they were talking about.
Beyonce wore her wedding ring around proudly in early April, but then nobody saw it for a long time. The ring was spotted on her left hand at the Conde Nast Fashion Rocks event in early September. The ring is a beautiful 18-carat flawless diamond solitaire set in platinum. It is valued by the jeweler to be worth $5 million. Jay-Z can certainly afford it, as he banks over $40 million per year. Jay-Z has also been showing off his wedding ring, as well, since July 29.
Aside from the left hand rings, how is it known that the pair is actually married? The validity of the marriage has been confirmed by celebrity guests including Russell Simmons and Mary J. Blige. Both of them offered the couple hearty congratulations after the ceremony. There is also confirmation of a wedding license being acquired.
So if everyone already knows beyond any doubt that the couple is married, why in the world did they keep the joyous news a secret? No other celebrity has worked so hard to keep a secret, except possibly Jennifer Lopez’s denial that she was pregnant. They are certainly one of America’s favorite celebrity couples. So, because they are celebrities, do they have some sort of responsibility to the public to confirm their marriage? This is not a fair task to require. Although the public may not understand why these two lovebirds kept the marriage under wraps, it is the couple’s right to protect the privacy of their union if they choose to do so.