Here is a look at the friendship between Rihanna and Jay-Z, from their first meeting to the Super Bowl in 2023.

Rumors that Jay-Z and Rihanna were having an affair contributed to her fame

The relationship between Rihanna and Jay-Z has always been shrouded in confusion, with some insisting that the pair had an affair when they first began working together. The rumors go all the way back to 2005 and were apparently serious enough that Beyoncé and Jay-Z reportedly split up for a year because the “Cuff It” singer wasn’t sure what to think in the face of all the stories.

As the Daily Mail reported, author J Randy Taraborrelli claimed, “Beyoncé didn’t know what to make of this, and it actually ended up breaking them up for a time. They spent maybe a year apart from each other because Beyoncé just wasn’t sure of what to make of the situation with Rihanna.”

It turns out that the rumors were nothing more than just that. Publicist Jonathan Hay has since admitted to planting the stories in the press after being hired to promote Rihanna’s first single “Pon de Replay” (via Elle).

Rihanna was nervous about meeting Jay-Z for the first time

Even though that first meeting with Jay-Z went so well that she ended up with a record deal, Rihanna was still very nervous the first time she auditioned for him. This makes sense; after all, she was a teenager from Barbados and he was one of the most famous and powerful people in the music industry.

Rihanna later detailed just how nervous she was while sharing memories with her fans via her Instagram story. As reported by the Evening Standard, the singer was happy to admit: “Feels like just yesterday I was shaking in the hallways of Def Jam waiting to audition for Jay.”

Rihanna told a similar story to The Guardian in 2007. She explained that being called into Jay-Z’s office for her audition was nerve-racking enough, and actually seeing him in real life was difficult to fathom. As she put it: “I remember being extremely quiet. I was very shy. I was cold the entire time. I had butterflies. I’m sitting across from Jay-Z. Like, Jay-Zee. I was star-struck.”