Jay-Z opens up about cheating on Beyoncé

American rapper and business mogul Jay-Z opened up on the Van Jones Show about his episode of infidelity with pop-megastar Beyoncé. He talked how it was important for him to get his marriage back together as he considered Beyoncé his soul mate. In his latest album ‘4:44’, Hova even addressed the issue on the title track.

"What is it about this marriage that's so special that you would fight this hard to save it?" Jones asked Jay in the premier episode of the show. "That's my soul mate. It's the person I love," replied the rapper. "If you haven't experienced love or don't understand it or you don't have the tools to move forward then you are going to have complications. Period," he added.

According to the 48-year-old business tycoon, the couple, who were married in 2008, didn’t want to end up divorced. "We chose to fight for our love, for our family to give our kids a different outcome — to break that cycle for black men and women," he said.

Jones further probed on whether celebrities’ hookups and breakups are commonplace, to which Jay said, "We were never a celebrity couple. We were a couple who just happened to be celebrities. Real people." When asked for advice he would give men who want to mend their relationship, Jay advised, ‘changed behavior.’

"You have to acknowledge the pain and you have to let that person have their say," the father of three explained. "You have to get on the floor, get on the mattress and you have to really work through it. And really be honest. It takes a while. It's hard. It's difficult to hear, difficult to stay, it's difficult to listen to that sort of pain—but you have to be strong enough to go through that," the rapper said.

Earlier, in an interview with Ney York Times, Jay said, "You know, most people walk away, and like divorce rate is like 50 percent or something 'cause most people can't see themselves. The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone's face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself."

The infidelity episode was addressed by Queen B in her album ‘Lemonade’ and by Jay in his album ‘4:44’, which is also nominated for a Grammy. The lyrics of the title track of 4:44 go like this, "And if my children knew, I don't even know what I would do / If they ain't look at me the same / I would prolly die with all the shame."