Tina Knowles: The truth behind her marriage to Mathew Knowles

Tina Knowles, the strong and stylish matriarch of the Knowles family, is finally opening up about the pain and betrayal she endured during her decades-long marriage to music executive Mathew Knowles.

In her newly released memoir Matriarch, Tina gets candid about the heartbreak that lingered behind the scenes—even as her daughters Beyoncé and Solange rose to superstardom.

According to Tina, the trouble started early in their marriage.

Just one year in, Mathew began cheating—something Tina would come to silently endure for years.

She describes how she stood by him, hoping things would change, and remained loyal as he "ran the streets" while building Destiny's Child and later managing Beyoncé's solo career.

But the final straw came in 2009 when Tina discovered that Mathew had fathered a child outside their marriage.

The betrayal was deep, and after years of hurt and quiet suffering, Tina finally filed for divorce.

Though they briefly reconciled after the filing, the relationship ultimately couldn’t be saved.

The divorce was finalized in 2011.

"I felt like I failed," Tina confessed in a recent interview, reflecting on the emotional weight of ending a 31-year marriage.

But rather than staying stuck in that pain, she began focusing on self-healing, self-love, and rediscovering her identity outside of her family roles.

Matriarch is more than just a story about heartbreak—it’s about strength, survival, and reclaiming one's power.

Tina also touches on her upbringing in Galveston, Texas, experiences with racism, surviving breast cancer, and how she found purpose in being a guiding light to not only her daughters but to many others.