Monday 15 September 2014

Beyonce and Jay Z: Breakup or baby?


Beyonce enjoys being 33 with Jay Z at her side in Portofino, Italy, on September 8.


Beyonce enjoys being 33 with Jay Z at her side in Portofino, Italy, on September 8.






  • Divorce talk has now been replaced by baby rumors

  • Tabloids report that Jay Z hinted his wife is pregnant

  • The pair have kept the public guessing




(CNN) -- What divorce rumors?


Say what you will about superstar couple Beyonce and Jay Z, but they appear determined to keep fans guessing. The conversation swirling around them has gone from "Are they over?" to "Are they overjoyed about an addition to their family?"


As the pair wrapped up their very successful "On The Run" tour in Paris over the weekend, there was speculation that Beyonce may be pregnant with their second child, a marked turn from the breakup chatter that surrounded the pair at the start of the tour in June.


So how did the narrative switch so rapidly? Apparently with very little help from Mr. and Mrs. Carter.


Much as they did with the split rumors, the couple have remained mum about a potential new baby. Instead, fans have turned to their "On the Run" concerts for clues, indulging in a guessing game that's continued through the very last show.


Rumors of trouble in paradise started after the now infamous elevator incident in May. After Beyonce's sister, Solange, was shown on surveillance video fighting her rapper brother-in-law after the Met Gala in New York City, there were whispers that divorce was on the horizon.


Yet Beyonce and Jay never responded directly to the gossip about a breakup. Instead, they released a statement following the elevator incident saying they were united as a family and announced their first joint tour with a star-studded trailer portraying them as an outlaw couple.


Incidentally, the controversy did nothing to hamper the launch of their stadium tour; "On the Run," which had 16 dates in North America and two in Paris, reportedly went on to gross more than $100 million.


As the pair wound their way through their dates, every onstage interaction was picked apart for hints about their offstage relationship. There was the time when Beyonce changed the lyrics to her song "Resentment," about a faithless lover, to say "been ridin' with you for 12 years" -- the amount of time she and her husband have been together.


She then stepped it up another notch with a remix of her song "Flawless," in which she sang, "Of course sometimes s**t goes down when there's a billion dollars on an elevator." (Beyonce and Jay Z have consistently been named among the top-earning couples in the music industry.)


Concertgoers were left to make their own decisions about what, if anything, was happening behind the scenes. During the show, scenes of the pair as outlaws flashed on the screen along with the words, "This Is Not Real." During their rendition of "Young Forever," the couple shared never-before-seen video of their wedding, family time and vacations with the words, "This Is Real."


At the same time, there were reports -- like a July item in the New York Post titled "Inside the crumbling marriage of Jay Z and Beyonce" -- which claimed that the pair were now more business arrangement than happy couple.


But apparently someone forgot to tell the Carters that.


They appeared to be very much together in August when Beyonce gave an energetic 16-minute performance at the MTV Video Music Awards as her husband and daughter, Blue Ivy, supported her from the audience. Jay Z and Blue then took the stage to present the singer with the MTV Michael Jackson Vanguard Award, and the family shared a tender hug on stage, causing even further head-scratching among some fans.


And then came their last "On the Run" show in Paris on September 13. Us Weekly reports that Beyonce got emotional, wiping away tears as she said to her husband, "I love you so much" before asking the audience to "Give it up for Mr. Carter" (which is Jay Z's legal name).


There has been no word from the Carter camp as to whether there is a blessed event on the way or not. That's not unexpected, given that the couple have been notoriously private about their personal life, taking years to even acknowledge that they were a couple. They have been only slightly more open during their six-year marriage.


The only sure thing is that fans will be able to see more of them on September 20. That's when their HBO "On the Run" concert special premieres.



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