Tragic Details About The Knowles Family

Since inking her first record deal in 1997, Beyoncé has been a fixture of the limelight, and her family an entertainment dynasty. Similar to the Jacksons, the Knowleses have achieved superstardom all while still remaining relatively private about their personal lives. While we may not know everything there is to know about Bey and her family, we sure do know some key details about the key players. Before she was a household name, matriarch Tina Knowles-Lawson ran a hair salon and eventually designed the glamorous outfits for her eldest daughter's girl group, and Mathew Knowles was the mastermind and manager of his daughters' careers. Both Beyoncé and Solange have enjoyed their own success in music with critical acclaim all while maintaining flawless reputations.

While the family has achieved a great deal of success, celebrity, and triumph, that is not to say it has always been easy for the Knowleses. Here are some tragic details about the Knowles family that might’ve flown under your radar.

Beyoncé struggled after band shakeup

In 2000, just three years after Destiny's Child signed with Columbia Records, LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson were ousted from the group; as Roberson told People, the split "was almost like a bad divorce." Both women alleged that they were dismissed from the band after they requested to part ways with Mathew Knowles as their manager, and they took the matter to court.

"We saw the 'Say My Name' video on TV, and that’s how I found out I was no longer in the group," Roberson recalled in People. The video for the third single off of "The Writing's on the Wall" featured two new members in their spots: Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin. Destiny's Child successfully moved forward without looking back.

Beyoncé suffered multiple miscarriages

In 2013, Beyoncé fans were in for a treat when she teased a documentary titled "Life Is A But A Dream" and promised an intimate look into her life. One devastating revelation she shared with fans was the miscarriage she suffered two years before the 2013 birth of her daughter Blue Ivy Carter. She and husband Jay-Z were ready to become parents, but then tragedy struck. "I picked out names. I envisioned what my child would look like ... I was feeling very maternal," she said, per Us Weekly. "I flew back to New York to get my checkup — and no heartbeat."

In 2017, Jay-Z released "4:44," a deeply personal album that gets into the ups and downs of his personal life, including the struggles that’ve impacted his marriage to Beyoncé. The title track is an emotional apology to his wife on which he alludes to multiple pregnancy complications that she experienced: "I apologize for all the stillborns, 'cause I wasn’t present, your body wouldn’t accept it."

Tina Knowles' nephew died from HIV

Outside of being a supportive mother to her two daughters, Tina Knowles-Lawson also lends her name to important causes. One in particular that means a lot to her is HIV awareness. She openly shared her experience of losing a loved one to HIV/AIDS in a 2020 interview with the Black AIDS Institute. In that interview, Knowles-Lawson discussed her nephew Johnny, who was not only a close relative but someone she considered a best friend. He worked for the Knowles family as a nanny and designed outfits for the girls in the beginning stages of Destiny's Child.

She described how heartbreaking it was seeing his health decline after his AIDS diagnosis. "People were afraid and there were a lot of myths and misconceptions about it and fear, and it was a really, really tough time," she said. "I often think about him and I think that if only he could have gotten in later, there would have been more treatment for it ... he wouldn’t have been ostracized so much."

Mathew Knowles experienced racism as a child

As a young Black boy who grew up in Alabama, Mathew Knowles is no stranger to racial discrimination. Born in 1952, he spoke about attending desegregated schools in Gadsden, Alabama. Growing up, he dealt with segregated water foundations and bathrooms and discussed how those experiences make him grateful for the freedoms he has today.

In his own book "Racism: From the Eyes of a Child," Mathew detailed how colorism was something he was taught as a child by his own mother. Chatting with Ebony in 2018 about the book, he recalled, "In the deep South in the '50s, '60s, and '70s, the shade of your Blackness was considered important. So I, unfortunately, grew up hearing that message."

Mathew Knowles was diagnosed with breast cancer

In 2019, Mathew Knowles was diagnosed with stage 1A breast cancer at the age of 67. As he shared with People the following year, he sought medical help after finding bloodstains on his shirt and bedsheets. He ultimately had a double mastectomy to remove his right breast and also learned that he had the BRCA2 gene mutation, which raises his risk of developing pancreatic, melanoma, and prostate cancers.

Per People, Knowles has "an extensive family history of the disease," and he wasted no time encouraging both of his daughters to get the BRCA gene test. He has also used his platform to raise awareness about male breast cancer and the importance of genetic testing.

Tina and Mathew Knowles' messy divorce

In 2009, TMZ reported that Tina Knowles filed for divorce from Mathew Knowles. This filing came just two months after Mathew was hit with a paternity lawsuit from Alexsandra Wright. In a lengthy statement, Wright later confirmed the affair and accused Mathew of not being active in their son's life.

Surprisingly, a year later the divorce was called off after both of them skipped out on their court hearing. In 2011, TMZ confirmed their 33-year-long marriage was over and the divorce was finalized. On a 2020 episode of "Girlfriends Check In," Tina opened up about how her kids were there for her during that time. "When I went through my divorce I was devastated after 33 years of marriage," she said.

Beyoncé's cousin was killed

In 2021, tragedy hit the Knowles family when 34-year-old Martell DeRouen was fatally shot at his home in Texas. His body was reportedly found days after during a wellness check by the police. He was confirmed to be the cousin of both Solange and Beyoncé Knowles and was related to them through their grandmother Agnes DeRouen.

His wife, Joia DeRouen, described him as someone with a strong work ethic who never used his