In a new interview with Van Jones that aired on Saturday Jan. 27, Jay-Z candidly discussed his marriage to Beyoncé and how they fought for their relationship.
Jones, who had Jay-Z on for the premiere episode of his CNN show, "Van Jones Show," pointedly asked the rapper why he and his wife stayed together, particularly after infidelity, which Bey touched upon in her album "Lemonade" and Jay later confessed to in his album "4:44" which is nominated for a Grammy.
Among the lyrics that hinted at his discretions were, "And if my children knew, I don't even know what I would do / If they ain't look at me the same / I would prolly die with all the shame," from the title track.
"What is it about this marriage that's so special that you would fight this hard to save it?" Jones asked the mogul.
"That's my soul mate. It's the person I love," the 48-year-old confessed. "If you haven't experienced love or don't understand it or you don't have the tools to move forward then you are going to have complications. Period."
The couple, who married in 2008, also strove to not be another divorce statistic, according to Jay-Z.
"We chose to fight for our love, for our family to give our kids a different outcome—to break that cycle for black men and women," he explained
And addressing Jones' remark that it's become cliché for celebrity couples to get together, break up and then for the public to wonder who they'll be with next, Jay replied, "We were never a celebrity couple. We were a couple who just happened to be celebrities. Real people."
Jones also asked the 21-time Grammy award winner to share advice for men who have caused pain in their marriages, to which Jay-Z explained was "changed behavior."
"You have to acknowledge the pain and you have to let that person have their say," the father of three explained. "You have to get on the floor, get on the mattress and you have to really work through it. And really be honest. It takes a while. It's hard. It's difficult to hear, difficult to stay, it's difficult to listen to that sort of pain—but you have to be strong enough to go through that."
The work was worth it for Jay, who described where they are now as "beautiful."
This is not the first time he has addressed their relationship. In a New York Times article published in November, the TIDAL owner said, "You know, most people walk away, and like divorce rate is like 50 percent or something 'cause most people can't see themselves. The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone's face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself."