Beyoncé and Jay-Z first met in 2000 when Beyoncé was 18 and Jay-Z was 30. They were friends for about a year and a half before they started dating. Beyoncé has said in an interview that she was 19 when they began dating, which would place the start of their romantic relationship around late 2000 or 2001. Jay-Z also confirmed that at the time they started dating, they were just beginning to try to date each other. Their relationship became publicly known around 2001 when they appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair's music issue.
