Relationships

Tamera Mowry Revealed She Once Flirted With JAY-Z & Beyoncé Fans Are Freaking Out

by Korey Lane
David Livingston/Getty Images/ Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Spike

Some things just go together. Peanut butter and chocolate, Kate Middleton and the perfect blowout, and of course, Beyoncé and JAY-Z. But alas, although it seems like Bey and JAY have been together since the dawn of time, there was a time before these two were Crazy In Love and were free to date or flirt it up with other singles. So, it really shouldn't be all that shocking that once upon a time, Tamera Mowry says she flirted with JAY-Z. But somehow, for some reason, Beyoncé fans can't handle the revelation, even though Mowry made it clear she flirted with JAY before he was with Bey. Let's discuss.

While chatting it up with the ladies on The Real, Mowry revealed that she spotted the famous rapper back at the premiere of The Nutty Professor, which means this took place in 1996 — over 20 years ago! As Beyoncé and JAY-Z didn't even meet until 1999, Mowry was totally allowed to flirt with JAY-Z, whom she described as having an undeniable "charm" about him. Obviously, the two didn't get together, but it's pretty interesting to think about what could have been. Loni Love, one of The Real's co-hosts even pointed out that "it could have been JAY-Z and Tamara," instead of JAY-Z and Bey. The world as we know it could be very different if anything had happened between the two back in the day.

"I actually met JAY-Z in person, and he wasn’t with Beyoncé at the time and I wasn’t dating anybody and when I met him, you do get like hit with the charm," Mowry said. "I found myself strangely asking for gum. I swear, my sister and I were at a premiere of Nutty Professor and he walked by and I was like 'Oh my God, that’s JAY-Z' and I was like 'Could I have some gum?' And he gave me some gum."

Sounds innocent enough. Nevertheless, as Cosmopolitan reported, Beyoncé fans have not been taking Mowry's comments well, taking to Instagram with bee emojis on Mowry's photos as a sort of signal to "watch out." Because, ya know, heaven forbid a single woman flirt with a single man 20 years ago or whatever. Le sigh. Now, I myself have done some digging into Mowry's Instagram and it seems like those bee comments been deleted, but Cosmopolitan has receipts in the form of screenshots. Additionally, plenty of Mowry's friends have leaped to her defense, as she literally did nothing wrong.

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Really, Mowry's reaction to seeing JAY-Z was relatable AF. When confronted with a handsome celebrity, her first inclination was to ask him for some gum, and honestly, it's not a bad move. Shooters shoot, and all that. Who knows what it could have led to? Obviously, both Mowry and JAY-Z are now happily married to other people, and the meeting was just a funny coincidence that can be looked back on with humor. JAY-Z is obviously married to Beyoncé, and they share three children together, while Mowry has been married to her husband Adam Housley since 2011. In fact, Mowry also told her friends on The Real that she and Housley split up for a year or so while they were dating.

Now, the two are happily married and have two children together, Aden John Tanner Housley and Ariah Talea Housley. For Mowry, meeting JAY-Z was likely just an exciting thing that happened years ago, and doesn't really mean anything. At least all parties are happy today, and that's what matters, Beyhive aside.