What's Going On With Beyoncé And Jay-Z's Twins
Praise Beysus! Beyoncé announced on Feb. 1, 2017 that she and husband Jay-Z were expecting twins, and the double bundle of joy reportedly arrived on June 17, 2017. Jay-Z revealed to Rap Radar that the twins' names, Rumi and Sir Carter, held special meaning to the family. "Rumi is our favorite poet, so it was for our daughter," he said. As for their little man? The rapper said his son arrived on the scene with gusto. "He carries himself like that. He just came out, like, Sir."
While these tykes are sure to be blessed with wealth and beauty, they do face the unenviable challenge of measuring up to big sis Blue Ivy's cool levels — although we're sure they'll do just fine in that regard. However, this double bundle of joy is already dealing with prying press, conspiracy theories, and their parents' intense schedules. Of course, it's not exactly a hard knock life for the nouveau-Vivienne and Knox, so let's explore what's going on with Beyoncé and Jay-Z's twins.
The world will forever be obsessed with them
Less than 24 hours after the Instagram announcement, Beyoncé's pregnancy news was trending more than the president of the United States. The obsession with these twins continued for the duration of her pregnancy (remember when she was carrying Blue Ivy?) and will likely continue for the rest of their lives. They won't be able to live outside of the spotlight, because, well, their parents are two of the most famous people on the planet, and there are two of them. That probably negates any potential disinterest that may have resulted from them not being the firstborn children.
Rumi and Sir made their Instagram debut for their 1-month birthday, where they were photographed with mom Bey in a shoot reminiscent of her pregnancy reveal. The twins were first spotted out and about in Miami on Nov. 12, 2017, when they were five months old — and, predictably, they were precious.
Their parents work... a lot
This pair redefines music industry power couple. Beyoncé slayed onstage throughout her pregnancy, delivering a jaw-dropping performance at the Grammys that celebrated motherhood — and somewhat terrified the world when she leaned really far back in a chair. Queen Bey did end up backing out of the Coachella Music Festival in April 2017, with pal and "Telephone" collaborator Lady Gaga filling in, but she returned to Coachella in 2018 to deliver a jaw-dropping set that turned the festival into "Beychella."
When the babies were just four months old, they hit the road with proud papa Jay-Z. Hov told Rap Radar, "I booked the [4:44] tour for October so I could have at least four months to just really bond and see their fingers and s**t like that."
Thankfully, the Carters have a lot of help raising Rumi, Sir, and big sis Blue Ivy. Insiders told Entertainment Tonight that the family has a "team of nannies" around the clock to the help the busy parents care for kids, especially as their schedules ramp up in preparation for their On the Run Part 2 tour in 2018.
They may not have a good relationship with grandpa
In 2011, Beyoncé fired her father, Mathew Knowles — who had served as her manager since she was a child — after he was reportedly busted cheating on her mother, Tina Lawson, fathering a love child, and allegedly stealing from Beyoncé's business. Hollywood Life reported that the father-daughter relationship is so damaged that he barely has a relationship with Blue Ivy — and odds are, that won't change for the twins.
Knowles did not confirm or deny the rumors, which gained steam after the 2016 release of Beyoncé's Lemonade album, which features a telling track called "Daddy Lessons." He told WatchLOUD (via People):"It's nobody's business how much I see my daughter or my grandkids, that's something personal that I care not to share."
It's unclear if the tykes currently have a good relationship with Knowles, but many members of the Beyhive have criticized him for publicizing the twins' birth. Before Beyoncé or Jay-Z acknowledged or confirmed the birth, Knowles tweeted: "They're here! #beyonce #twins #jayz #happybirthday." Beyhive members and fans lashed out, sending Knowles missives including "shame on you" and "Just had to ruin it for Bey, didn't you?" Many alleged that he tried capitalizing off of the baby news for personal gain, a theory that may hold water considering he included his Instagram handle on the image.
Do they hang out with Kimye's kids?
Beyoncé and Jay-Z came under fire from Jay-Z's one-time best friend, rapper Kanye West, for allegedly never visiting and for their kids never playing together. Now that West has recovered from his November 2016 meltdown, the twins may be expected to eventually join Blue Ivy for a play date with Saint and North, which would only intensify the media microscope...because you better believe West and wife Kim Kardashian will want that footage for their Keeping up with the Kardashians reality show.
Although, Us Weekly reported that Kimye visited Blue Ivy for her 5th birthday party in January 2017, there's been no word of the twins getting together with North, Saint, or Chicago for a playdate. In fact, as of this writing, Kanye and Jay-Z's complicated friendships still seems to be, well, more complicated than ever, according to Cosmopolitan. Oh well, it's not like the Kardashian-West kids don't have plenty of cousins to chill with.
The conspiracy theorists came out in full force
Before Rumi and Sir were even born, conspiracy theorists spouted nonsense about the twins serving as a tool of the Illuminati. The Sun reported that because Bey and Jay were parents to three children, it was a sign of a connection to the cult because three is an important Illuminati number. (It's also the number bad things come in, a symbol of the holy trinity, the square root of nine, and the same number of kids lots of people have.) Illuminati obsessors also noted that the date the pregnancy was announced, Feb. 1, 2017, was significant because 2 (for February), 1, and 2017 are all prime numbers. Some claimed Bey, who kneeled in her maternity photo, was actually in a "pyramid position."
Beyoncé dismissed Illuminati chatter in her "Formation" track, spitting, "Y'all haters corny with that Illuminati mess," and Jay, whose Roc diamond symbol has also been connected to the Illuminati, has addressed the link in his own lyrics for "Heaven" and "D'Evils," among others. Godspeed, kids.
Blue Ivy looks out for them
Blue Ivy takes pride in being a big sister to Rumi and Sir. Grandma Tina Knowles told Us Weekly, "[Blue is] a big sister and she feeds them and she's excited. And she feels responsible for them being here because she prayed for them."
One special way Blue takes care of the twins? She reportedly helps pick their outfits — and this lil' fashionista takes her style seriously. Beyoncé's rep confirmed to Women's Wear Daily that Bey's longtime personal assistant, Manuel Mendez, serves as Blue's personal shopper and stylist. He was the one who reportedly gussied her up for the 2018 Grammys, where she accompanied (and shushed) her proud parents (and even enjoyed a juice box and some snacks in the audience.) Here's hoping the twins join big sis Blue at awards shows in a few years.
They're already moneymakers
Jay-Z once rapped, "I'm not a businessman. I'm a business, man." So are the MC's tykes. People reported that shortly after Rumi and Sir's birth in June 2017, Jay-Z filed to trademark their names on a variety of merchandise, including water bottles, tote bags, baby gear, and fragrances. TMZ reported that Hov also filed a trademark application for the twins with his Ace of Spades champagne brand, opting for the moniker "Les Jumelles d'Armand de Brignac," noting on the documents that the name translated to "the twins." However, "jumelles" is also the French word for binoculars and "Les Jumelles" is a mountain range in Switzerland, so the possibilities are endless.
It's also possible that Jay-Z and Bey aren't planning to sell any merchandise with their kids' names and are simply taking precautions to ensure that no one else can capitalize on their babies.
The whole world knows their parents' dirty laundry
People reported that Beyoncé and Jay-Z are in a good place in their marriage right now, despite Beyoncé chronicling his alleged infidelity in her hit album Lemonade. Jay-Z admitted to problems in his 4:44's lyrics too, most notably in the title track when he raps, "And if my children knew / I don't even know what I would do / If they ain't look at me the same / I would probably die with all the shame / 'You did what with who?' / What good is a ménage à trois when you have a soulmate? / 'You risked that for Blue?'"
Jay-Z also addressed the rumors in a 4:44 bonus track called "Footnotes on 4:44," revealing that Beyoncé almost left him during a vacation together. "This is my real life. I just ran into this place and we built this big, beautiful mansion of a relationship that wasn't totally built on the 100-percent truth and it starts cracking..." he said (via Page Six). "...Then we had to get to a point of, 'OK, tear this down and let's start from the beginning' ... It's the hardest thing I've ever done."
They helped keep their parents' marriage together
Despite Jay-Z and Beyoncé's marital strife, which was heavily documented in their respective albums, 4:44 and Lemonade, parenthood has brought the couple closer than ever. In fact, some sources told People that if it weren't for the children, the pair may have divorced. It reportedly took years of therapy for the couple to become this stable and strong.
Jay-Z told The Van Jones Show (via People) that part of why he and Bey worked out their problems (which consisted primarily of his own infidelity and her consequent trust issues) is because they wanted to set a better example for their children. "You can either address it or you can pretend until it blows up at some point. And you know, for us, we chose to fight for our love, for our family, to give our kids a different outcome ... To break that cycle." He added, "We were never a celebrity couple. We were a couple that happened to be celebrities."
Leaking pics of them will get you stung
If there's one thing we know for sure about Rumi and Sir, it's that their parents tightly control their exposure to the world. In fact, after they waited a full month before even announcing the twins' birth, Beyoncé and Jay-Z then kept rabid fans at bay (barring the rare paparazzi shot) for another year before finally sharing photos of the twins, according to ELLE. So, one can only imagine that the musical superstar parents weren't exactly crazy in love with whoever leaked a photo of Blue Ivy and the twins to social media in April 2019.
As of Buzzfeed's April 3, 2019 report, it's unclear who the culprit is, however the photo was traced back to a since-deleted post from Freeish Media, which was a screenshot of a tweet from the since-deleted account @713yonce. Another outlet, Hollywood Unlocked, shared Freeish Media's post, but took it down "after receiving a call from Beyoncé's representative and learning that the image was not authorized." But mama Bey wasn't the only one buzzing over the fiendish photo.
In addition to the inevitable blowback from the Beyhive, writer Arianna Davis of O: The Oprah Magazine declared that she and other Bey fans were "outraged," and called for everyone to stop sharing the unauthorized snap. "As a superstar, Beyoncé has changed the history of music forever," Davis wrote, adding, "So the least we can do is respect her when it comes to her children." Agreed.
It's good to be a Carter kid
When Beyoncé did get around to sharing those hotly anticipated snaps of Rumi and Sir, she did so in the way that any proud (if not slightly annoying) parent does — with vacation photos! According to ELLE, the "Formation" singer shared shots on her website in July 2018 of Rumi, Sir, and Blue Ivy aboard a yacht "during a family trip to Europe." By December 2018, the twins also had a stamp from India on their enviable passports.
Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles, who traveled to Europe with the fam, according to People, previously gave fans a glimpse of the twins with what appeared to be a throwback photo on Instagram the month before (with Bey and Jay's permission, we're sure). It all coincided with the superstars' joint On The Run II Tour, which saw the Carter clan hit stops everywhere from the UK to Scandinavia.
While toting the whole family along on a work trip sounds like a nightmare for us normals, for Beyoncé it couldn't have gone better. "We've been touring with our family around the world, and loving it," she posted on Instagram in September 2018. "This year has been monumental for me."
Sounds like it wasn't too shabby for the Carter kids, either.
Who run the world?
Even though their twins achieved legendary status before they took their first steps, Beyoncé and Jay-Z have big plans for their future. "It's important to me that [my daughters] see themselves as CEOs, as bosses, and that they know they can write the script for their own lives — that they can speak their minds and they have no ceiling," Beyoncé wrote in Vogue's September 2018 issue. She envisioned a similar life plan for Sir, revealing that she wants him to "be strong and brave but ... also be sensitive and kind. I want my son to have a high emotional IQ where he is free to be caring, truthful, and honest."
It's hard to argue against instilling those kinds of values, and thanks to grandma Tina Knowles, we know that all three kids already seem to be on their parents' desired path. "[Rumi] is really just going to rule the world, and [Sir] is kind of laid back and chills like the dad," she told Us Weekly. Okay, fine, so maybe Sir is the strong, silent type. But what about Blue Ivy? "She is the Queen B," Knowles said, before quickly clarifying, "The second Queen B." Can't find the lie in that.