It’s in this reimagined classic.

KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES FOR GLOBAL CITIZEN FESTIVAL: MANDELA 100

With a masterful album released, many fans might be wondering who Jay-Z cheated on Beyoncé with. On March 29, 2024, Beyoncé released her album Cowboy Carter which included songs that alluded to Jay-Z‘s affair.

“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she wrote about the country influences in an Instagram post. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”

One song that caused the Beyhive to examine more was “Jolene.” The song was preceded by an introduction by the legend Dolly Parton, herself. “Hey, Ms. Honey Bee, it’s Dolly P.,” she says in an interlude aptly called “Dolly P.” “You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about? Reminded me of someone I knew back when, except she has flaming locks of auburn hair, bless her heart. Just a hair of a different color, but it hurts just the same.” The song that Dolly is referring to is “Sorry” from her 2016 album Lemonade. “Better call Becky with the good hair,” Beyoncé sings in the last line of the song, which led fans to speculate that it was about the “Empire State of Mind” rapper’s affair.

Beyoncé also changed up the lyrics from Dolly’s original 1973 version. “I’m warning you, don’t come for my man,” Queen Bey croons. She turns it up even more with lyrics like, “You don’t want this smoke so shoot your shot with someone else,” “I’m still a Creole banjee bitch from Louisiana’” and “Your peace depends on how you move, Jolene.”

She mentioned her nearly 20-year-long marriage with the rapper. “We been deep in love for twenty years. I raised them man, I raised his kids. And I know my man, better than he knows himself.”

Who did Jay-Z cheat on Beyoncé with?

The identity of the woman that Jay-Z cheated on Beyoncé with has not been revealed. It was rumored that he had an affair with Rita Ora, who signed to his label Roc Nation in 2008. However, Ora vehemently denied the rumors. Rumors of Jay-Z’s infidelity first emerged when security camera footage caught Beyoncé’s sister Solange attacking the rapper in an elevator.

Jay-Z admitted that he cheated on Beyoncé shortly after the release of Lemonade. He confessed in an interview with The New York Times Magazine, “The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone’s face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself,” he said. “You have to survive. So you go into survival mode, and when you go into survival mode, what happens? You shut down all emotions.

He continued, “So, even with women, you gonna shut down emotionally, so you can’t connect. In my case, like, it’s deep. And then all the things happen from there: infidelity.”

He directly referenced his own affair in his music in his song “4:44” on his album of the same name. “Look, I apologize/Often womanize/Took for my child to be born to see through a woman’s eyes.”

He sat down with David Letterman to talk about the album and how he was moving forward with his marriage and raising his three kids, Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir. “This music that I’m making now is a result of things that happened already and, like you, I like to believe that we’re in a better place today but still working and communicating and growing,” he said in the episode. “I’m proud of the father and the husband that I am today because of all the work that was done.