Photos have emerged of Jay-Z, aged 28, with 16-year-old Beyonce which call into question her claim that she was 18 when they first struck up a friendship.
The early days of their relationship have come under renewed scrutiny after the rapper, 55, was hit with a civil lawsuit that
claims he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl on September 7, 2000 after the
MTV Video Music Awards with Sean '
Diddy' Combs, but insists he is the victim of a 'blackmail attempt'.
Weeks after the alleged incident, Jay-Z, then 30, was pictured publicly with 19-year-old Beyonce for the first time and according to her account, this was the age she was when they started dating.
According to Beyonce's account, they met when she was 18 and were friends for a year before things turned romantic, but the Young Forever hitmaker has said he met his future wife when she was 16 - and vowed that 'she will be mine'. He was 28 years old at the time.