When Beyoncé released Lemonade last year, much was made of the repeated mention of infidelity across the album.
And when Jay-Z released 4:44 earlier this year, people were quick to notice references to cheating on his tracks too.
Well, now Jay-Z has finally confirmed that he did cheat on Beyoncé, and that making music about their troubles was a form of therapy.
Speaking to the New York Times, Jay said he cheated as a result of "shutting down" his emotions.
Jay said:
You have to survive. So you go into survival mode and when you go into survival mode, what happens? You shut down all emotions. So, even with women, you gonna shut down emotionally, so you can't connect. In my case, like, it's deep. And then all the things that happen from there: infidelity.
He went on to describe how painful it was to reflect on the hurt he had caused.
Jay said:
Most people walk away. Divorce rate is like 50% or something, because most people can't see themselves. The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone's face that you caused, and then you have to deal with yourself. Most people don't want to do that. You don't want to look inside yourself, and so you walk away.
Jay also revealed that he and Beyoncé addressed their marital issues by creating music together for a joint album that was never released.
He explained:
We were using our art almost like a therapy session. And we started making music together. And then the music she was making at that time was further along. So her album came out as opposed to the joint album that we were working on. It was uncomfortable. But I was really proud of the music she made, and she was really proud of the art I released. At the end of the day we really have a healthy respect for one another's craft. I think she's amazing.