Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland’s friendship, in their own words

Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland have known each other for more than three decades. The two went from living together, to performing together, to becoming aunts to each other’s children.

The “Motivation” singer was 11 when she moved in with Beyoncé and her family, the “Halo” singer’s mom, Tina Knowles, said in a 2015 essay for TIME.

Prior to Rowland moving in, she and Beyoncé were already singing together at age 9 in what would later become their legendary girl group Destiny’s Child, the “Cuff It” singer said in a 2004 interview.

The two have been best friends ever since, undoubtedly becoming closer with each life stage they tackle. They’re now both married with kids: Rowland, who shares two sons, Titan, 8, and Noah, 2, with husband Tim Weatherspoon; and Beyoncé, who shares three kids, Blue Ivy, 11, and 6-year-old twins, Rumi and Sir, with husband Jay-Z.

Rowland and Beyoncé made their mark in the music industry with Destiny’s Child, which primarily included Michelle Williams as the third member, but LeToya Luckett, Farrah Franklin and LaTavia Roberson were also members at various times. Outside of the group, Beyoncé and Rowland have continued to break barriers and shape trends as solo artists. When Beyoncé became the first Black woman to headline Coachella in 2018, Rowland and Michelle joined her in a surprise Destiny’s Child reunion.

Although the group has yet to announce if they will officially reunite for a sixth album, Rowland did acknowledge that she loves being on stage with her close friends.

“Of course I miss us being on stage,” Rowland said on TODAY in 2016, “but I don’t miss the ladies in that way (because) I see them all the time. We are still family. Those are my sisters. I call them when there’s great news, bad news, OK news. I love them to death. Michelle and Bey are my gems, the gems of my life.”

Here’s what Beyoncé and Rowland have said about their decades-long friendship over the years.

Michelle Williams, Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child (Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Coachella)
1999: ‘We always got to stay on top’

Beyoncé, Rowland and Luckett did a joint interview in 1999 in which they were asked to describe each other. They took turns and Rowland was the one to describe Beyoncé.

“Beyoncé is like the mother of the group,” Rowland said. “She’s very caring. She’s very wise and she’s like the perfectionist. If we need to get something straight, if we need to get our attitudes straight, she’s like, “Come on, y’all, we’ve got to get on top of it. We got to be ‘Destiny’s Child.’ We always got to stay on top.'”

“She’s very supportive,” Rowland added.

2004: ‘So close that you can’t explain it to people’

Kelly Rowland and Beyonce Knowles (L. Cohen / WireImage)

Beyoncé said in the interview that they came back together after solo albums because they’ve always been friends first.

“We grew up together and we been in this group since we were 9 years old,” Beyoncé said. “We’ve shared our best memories and moments and some of our hardest moments. And that forces you to get so close that you can’t explain it to people.”

“It was so important for us to maintain our friendship,” she said.

2009: ‘Destiny’s Child’ once threatened one of Solange’s bullies

Kelly Rowland and Beyonce (Kevin Mazur / WireImage)
Beyoncé shared a childhood story with David Letterman in 2009 in which she said the members of Destiny’s Child, which included Rowland, confronted a student who was bullying her younger sister, Solange, who was around 9 at the time.

“Me and my girls all showed up and we surrounded him,” Beyoncé recalled in the interview.

“We’re like, ‘You been messing with my sister. I’m telling you — you’ve been warned,” she declared. “And tell them ‘Destiny’s Child’ has warned you.”

“So we were real gangster,” she added, chuckling.

2016: ‘I’m excited for her’

Kelly Rowland and Beyonce Knowles (Kevin Mazur / Getty Images)
Rowland was asked about a Destiny’s Child reunion in a 2016 interview with the “Breakfast Club” and said while she’s still close with Williams and Beyoncé, the idea about the group reuniting to make music doesn’t really come up in their conversation.

“The last time me and Bey were together was like I think two weeks ago when I stopped by rehearsals and we talk about everything else,” she said. “We really, really do. We talk about play dates with the kids and we talk about vacations and new opportunities.”

At the time, Beyoncé was rumored to be working on an album, which was later announced as the visual album “Lemonade.”

When asked about the album, Rowland said, “I’m very excited about it.”

“I’m excited for her, for everybody else,” she said.

2020: Beyoncé celebrates Rowland on Instagram

When Rowland released her single “Coffee” in 2020, Beyoncé did three posts on Instagram to mark the occasion. Two posts were clips of the music video and the third was a picture of Rowland.

“Get Your Coffee!” Beyoncé captioned the picture.

2022: ‘We both shine together’

Rowland and Beyoncé have been compared to each other since their “Destiny’s Child” days. In an interview with Hot 97 in 2022, the two were once again compared and Rowland was quick to dismiss the comparison, noting that they were both equally great.

“Light attracts light,” she said. “I am light. I am a beautiful, brown shining light. So, I don’t think anybody’s light dims anyone else’s. I think that when other people start to compare you, I think that that’s when it shows how dim they are of themselves. So I don’t take somebody else trying to dim my light anymore — from anybody else. I love Bey. I know that she’s a light. But I know that I’m a light too.”

She then added that she dislikes, “when they just put one person in one place.”

“We both shine together,” she later added, while also noting, “That’s my family. We’re there for each other’s children’s births.”

Rowland says there was a time when other people’s comparisons of them did impact Rowland. But the singer says she was able to overcome it.

“It had to take maturity and being in my own space, loving my own space, and realizing my own power and what I bring to the table,” she said.

2023: ‘Til the wheels fall off’

Rowland is known to celebrate Beyoncé on her Sept. 4 birthday with a sweet post honoring her bestie.

“Til the Wheels Fall Off!!” Rowland captioned her most recent Instagram post for Bey’s 42 birthday. I Love You!!! HAPPY BORNDAY B!”