Tina Knowles has opened up about her relationship with her two famous daughters, Beyoncé and Solange, and also the struggle she faces with one of her girls, who she says “needs her space”.
Chatting candidly and openly at her Matriach: An Evening with Tina Knowles event in London this week, which was attended by HELLO!, the fashion stylist and New York Times best-selling author revealed she has only just fully adjusted to how “distant” her youngest, Solange, can be.
Tina, who was being interviewed at the Royal Festival Hall by Stella McCartney, explained that, generally, she speaks to her family “every day” and that she has an extremely close bond with all of her kids and grandkids, but explained that Solange has always been more independent than the others.
Tina Knowles’ ongoing relationship with ‘distant’ daughter
The Matriarch author, who also considers Kelly Rowland and her great-niece, Angie Beyincé, as her “bonus daughters”, said that Solange has always been ultra-independent and, growing up, would be away from the family home.
“Kelly and Beyoncé would never go to parties or anything growing up, and I would say to them ‘Go out, go wild for once,'” the mother-of-two said animatedly, before adding: “I didn’t have to do that with Solange!” which prompted roars of laughter from the crowd.
Tina then shared that she’s only just understood that Solange is more distant naturally and not to take it personally: “She just needs her space, she’s very independent. I’m only just learning that now.”
Tina also shared in another funny anecdote how she can pester her kids to speak to them more, before joking: “They tell me, ‘Mom, get a life!'”
But it seems that both Solange and Beyoncé are full of gratitude for how Tina raised them, the event kicked off with a personal video tribute with voiceovers from Kelly, Beyoncé and Solange telling Tina how much they valued their mother and loved her endlessly.
Tina welcomed Beyoncé, 43, and Solange, 38, with her first husband Mathew Knowles. Both Tina and Mathew were instrumental in Beyoncé, Kelly and the other original members of Destiny’s Child reaching international fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The 70-year-old worked tirelessly as the girls’ stylist and designer, while their father, who Tina divorced in 2011, was their manager. Mathew continued to manage Beyoncé throughout her skyrocketing career when she went solo, though the Grammy-winning artist cut ties with him professionally in 2011.
During the London event, Tina also opened up about her marriages to both her first husband and her second, Richard Lawson, to whom she was married between 2015 and 2024.
After going through betrayal and heartbreak with Mathew, the businesswoman shared that it was “easier” to walk away from her second marriage.
“After the first marriage, it was easier to leave the second time. I knew [with Mathew] I had to leave a bunch of times but I didn’t because something big was always going on with my kids.
5 surprising Beyoncé facts
1. Young star
Aged just seven, Beyoncé’s singing ability was showcased on talent show where she performed John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’. In a 2004 interview with Rolling Stone, she said she was initially nervous but received a standing ovation and won the show. After that, her father took her to more talent shows and she triumphed an astonishing 45 times.
2. Sasha Fierce
In 2008, she adopted an alter ego called Sasha Fierce to help overcome her stage fright. Her album I am…Sasha Fierce was released that year. However, in 2010 she revealed she had outgrown the extroverted persona.
3. Pulling a Beyoncé
Beyoncé shocked fans in 2013 by releasing her self-titled album at midnight with no prior promotion. The move revolutionized the music industry and inspired artists such as Taylor Swift and Drake to follow suit. Billboard later named the trend “Pulling a Beyoncé.”
4. Vocal stamina
Her father told Rolling Stone in an interview that she would run a mile while practicing singing to improve her ability to sing and dance simultaneously. In 2017, her personal trainer shared with Insider that he once had her sing an entire album outdoors in the heat.
5. Low-key wedding
Beyoncé and Jay-Z married in 2008 in a private ceremony at the rapper’s Manhattan penthouse, attended by just 40 guests. Despite their cloak-and-dagger approach, they were spotted while picking up their marriage license in Scarsdale, New York.
“The second time it was easier, we didn’t have kids and I was older. I knew that I deserved to be happy.”
She added: “[Richard] is not a bad guy, we just weren’t right for each other.”
