Tina Knowles details her life story in new autobiography Matriarch, including how she coped with her ex-husband, Mathew Knowles, cheating throughout their marriage and eventually fathering a child while they were still wed.
Married in 1980, Tina first saw signs of trouble early within their relationship, writing, “There were already problems in our marriage that first year. But the suspicions I had would get washed away by the fact that our love was stronger than a misstep… It was us against the world, taking on what life brought us.”
The couple welcomed eldest daughter Beyoncé one year later in 1981, and while Tina does have fond memories of that time as a wife and mother, things soon began to deteriorate within her marriage due to her husband’s infidelity. By the time she was pregnant with daughter Solange in late 1985, Tina was seriously contemplating a divorce over Mathew’s “brazen cheating.”
“The marriage was deteriorating faster than I could possibly find ways or even reasons to make it work — even with the pregnancy,” she wrote. “I had gotten used to these extremes — incredibly joyous half the time as we shared life’s adventure, then being disgusted and heartsick over how brazen his cheating could get.”
Tina Knowles, Solange Knowles & Mathew Williams during The 5th Annual Ace Awards at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Jim Spellman/WireImage)
Despite their relationship turmoil, Tina stuck it out and began working closely with her husband in supporting Beyoncé’s career within R&B group Destiny’s Child. As Mathew managed the group, Tina served as their hairdresser and fashion designer/stylist. Still, things within their personal life continued to unravel.
“I was caught in this dance with him, each doing the same steps over and over: He would cheat or act up, and I would say I’d had enough. He would beg for forgiveness, crying and promising to get better… But this is what married people did, I told myself.”
The final straw came in 2009, when Tina discovered along with the rest of the world via the press that Mathew conceived a child with another woman during an 18-month affair. “I screamed, ‘Get out! Get out!’ like he was some demon. ‘I hate you!’ … my world had exploded.”
Mathew shares his son, Nixon Knowles, with former actress Alexsandra Wright.
After officially divorcing in 2011, Tina felt, “deeply sad, not about him but about the marriage. I felt like I failed. I failed us, my kids — myself,” adding that, eventually, the split set me free and on a new path.”
You can purchase Matriarch via Amazon here.
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