Tina Knowles reflects on “disgusting” rumours Beyoncé faked first pregnancy with Blue Ivy: “It was one of the worst times of my life”

Tina Knowles has looked back at the rumours that her daughter Beyoncé faked her pregnancy, and described it as “one of the worst times” of her life.

The rumours she refers to relate back to 2011, when Beyoncé was pregnant with her first child, Blue Ivy, and speculation arose that she was not actually carrying the baby, but instead, she and Jay-Z were using a surrogate in secret.

Momentum gathered after the pop star appeared on an Australian talk show that year, and her dress folded in a way that created the illusion that her baby bump briefly caved in, leading some to conclude that it must have been fake.

The singer’s publicist dismissed the comments as “stupid, ridiculous and false”, and after Blue Ivy was born in January 2012, Bey added that she thought the rumours were not “hurtful”, but “just crazy”.

Now, over a decade after the speculation, Beyoncé’s mother Tina has described that whole period as one of “the worst times” of her life, and branded all of the comments about her daughter as “disgusting”.

Speaking to People about the release of her new memoir, Matriarch, Tina said: “To hear people say the most horrendous things and to call my whole family a lie — because we would all have to be part of that conspiracy and lie about something so sacred — it was one of the worst times of my life, because I couldn’t say anything.”

“My daughter was saying, ‘No, you’re just going to make the story bigger.’ But it didn’t go away for a long time,” she added. “It’s one of the most painful things for me, to know that people could be that disgusting.

“I deal with lies all the time. I’m dealing with lies now, that I’m having, like, an invisible zipper at my mouth. There’s always these crazy rumours that are out there and, people just get to lie, and they don’t have to suffer any consequences.”

Since the rumours first emerged, Beyoncé and Jay-Z have also welcomed twins Rumi and Sir, who are now aged seven.

Looking back at the discussion around Bey’s pregnancy again in the memoir, Tina explained that it was particularly distressing to be a part of due to her daughter’s experience of miscarriage.

“The worst thing is that people had no idea how hard it was for Beyoncé to go through multiple miscarriages, and then when finally blessed to carry a baby to term, the world starts heckling you as you both try to make it to the finish line,” she wrote (as per The Independent). “This child was prayed for and prayed over — a wanted, cherished, real baby, and people were making a living off saying she was a lie.”

She concluded: “I wanted to curse some people out and scream at these losers to set the record straight. They had no idea what she and Jay, and our whole family, had been through.”

This isn’t the first time that Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s children have got people talking in 2025, just recently it was their two youngest children who unfortunately made headlines after Kanye West made scathing remarks about their cognitive development on X/Twitter. He has since issued an apology to Jay-Z, and it was reported that the couple were looking into taking legal action against the rapper.

Tina Knowles then appeared to hit out at Kanye for the remarks, too. “It’s hard to remain positive and classy in the face of ignorance and evil,” she wrote on Instagram. “But I know that no weapon formed against me or my family shall prosper. This battle is not mine, but the Lords, I know that God has got this.”

The ‘Crazy In Love’ singer’s father, Matthew Knowles, then chimed in as well, telling TMZ: “People pay a price for being stupid, especially in the music industry. I’m hopeful Kanye gets the type of help he needs, in terms of mental health.”

As for other Tina Knowles news, in the new memoir, the business mogul and designer also revealed to fans that she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She has also announced a tour in support of the book, featuring a special guest appearance from Michelle Obama. You can find tickets for the US dates here, and tickets for the sole UK date here.

Meanwhile, Beyoncé is set to embark on her ‘Cowboy Carter’ stadium tour next week (April 28). The pop star announced the initial run of huge gigs in February, before confirming further concerts in the States, the UK and France. Visit here for tickets to those shows.

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