Beyonce’s mom Tina Knowles dating ‘very nice gentleman’ two years after divorce from 2nd husband

Beyonce’s mother, Tina Knowles, has put her divorce from her second husband behind her after finding love again.

The 71-year-old has confirmed that she is dating again, almost two years after she and actor Richard Lawson split.

New love

Tina confessed that she has met a “very nice gentleman”, telling People when asked about her relationship status: “I am spending time with a friend. We’ll see what happens.”

Tina and Richard had known each other for several years before they began dating. After a two-year romance, they exchanged vows on a yacht near Newport Beach, California, in 2015.

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She filed for divorce in July 2023 after eight years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.

In her new memoir, Matriarch, Tina reflected on their split, and while she didn’t share the exact reason they parted ways, she dropped a few hints.

She wrote: “Love is patient, love is kind. Love is also not a competition or mired in jealousy. I made the decision to divorce with a heavy heart but totally without malice, and I have not lost a night of sleep over it.”

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Tina also opened up about her marriage to her first husband, Matthew Knowles, with whom she shares daughters Beyoncé and Solange.

The couple were married for 31 years, but their marriage was plagued by Matthew’s infidelity.

“I was caught in this dance with him, each doing the same steps over and over: He would cheat or act up, and I would say I’d had enough,” she wrote. “He would beg for forgiveness, crying and promising to get better… But this is what married people did, I told myself.”

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They split in 2009 after his affair with Alexsandra Wright was discovered, but months later, they rekindled their relationship.

“He’d changed after new counseling,” she wrote. “I didn’t believe him, but he was persistent, proved he’d gotten help, and as he courted me, I found myself falling in love again.

“The magnetic pull between us, this cosmic cord I had tried to cut so many times, was stronger than ever.”

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Tina added that their “bond seemed stronger because we were sneaking,” but they “knew the kids would be so mad at us if they found out we were together again.”

Their secret came to a head on Mother’s Day when she finally revealed their affair to their daughters, who felt betrayed by the news. 

The mother of two said that while Beyoncé “nodded solemnly”, her youngest daughter “exploded” at her for letting herself get caught up again.

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“Beyoncé was more understanding than Solange, who I know was just being protective of me,” Tina wrote. “They each loved their dad in different ways, and I sometimes felt my youngest was so much like her dad that she felt his moments of failing on a soul-deep level.”

The matriarch called it quits with Mathew for good in 2010 when he welcomed his daughter Koi with his mistress, TaQoya Branscomb. Their divorce was finalized in 2011.

“I clearly knew my relationship with Mathew was unhealthy, and it was the fear of going it alone that kept me stuck,” the business mogul said. “I had been avoiding Mathew lately, afraid to cut the cord, and he had retaliated by seeing another woman.”