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Inside Alicia Keys' Love Story with Her Husband and Life with Her Kids
Alicia Keys and her husband, Swizz Beatz, had an unconventional start to their relationship.
Alicia Keys is a talented multi-tasker. The singer-songwriter is the winner of 15 Grammys, the author of a best-selling memoir (More Myself), a devoted activist, and a former Coach on The Voice. Despite all she has going on, she is able to balance it all with her beautiful, blended family.
Here’s everything you need to know about Alicia Keys' husband and her kids.
Who is Alicia Keys married to?
Keys is married to hip-hop artist and music producer Swizz Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem Dean.
The rollercoaster romance started when Keys and Swizz Beatz were New York teens in the '90s. They met through a mutual high school friend when Keys (born Alicia Augello-Cook) was 14 and Beatz was 16 — though Keys was not interested in the rapper at first.
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“He’d usually pull up in some fancy car, rolling deep with his Bronx crew and shining with diamonds. I wanted nothing to do with that scene or with Swizz,” she wrote in her memoir.
For years, their mutual success landed them in the same music industry circles and at the same events. However, they didn’t hit it off until the singer and music producer reconnected in 2008 on a project, and a friendship blossomed.
“The more we talked the more I noticed how his mind worked. Beyond the baggy jeans and arm tats there was depth. He was so aware of what was happening in the world,” she wrote about her future husband.
When did Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz get married?
Their friendship quickly turned into a whirlwind romance, and they quietly dated for nearly two years before Beatz proposed to the singer. The engagement announcement in May 2010 brought more spectacular news: They were expecting their first baby together.
The nuptials took place in a private home in Corsica in July 2010, against a sparkling Mediterranean sea background. The couple’s friend, Dr. Deepack Chopra, officiated their marriage in front of close friends and family.
It was the first marriage for Keys and the second for Beatz.
Who are Alicia Keys' kids?
Keys and Beatz welcomed their first child, Egypt Daoud Dean, on October 14, 2010. Four years later, on December 27, 2014, they welcomed their second son, Genesis Ali Dean.
The couple also co-parent Beatz’s three children from his previous marriage: sons Prince Nasir, 22, and Kasseem Jr., 16, and daughter Nicole, 14.
The transition to motherhood was transformational for Keys, who was glad to prioritize her family over the frenetic pace of her career.
“To have this type of love in my life at this time in my life, it means so much. Perspectives change, priorities change,” Keys told journalist Lora Logan as reported by PEOPLE two years after the birth of her first son, Egypt.
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“I was such a different person seven years ago. Nothing would stop me from traipsing from here to London to L.A. back to London to L.A. in three days and not sleep… It was just that I thought that that was everything,” she said. “But to have time to spend with my family and my son, it’s like perspectives change a bit, it’s like, ‘Hold up! Let’s not kill ourselves here.’”
Alicia Keys on Raising Her Family
Alicia Keys and Swiss Beatz share their many accomplishments — and their love — with their kids.
In 2019, Keys was honored with the iHeartRadio Innovator Award; her boys and husband were right by her side. Keys, a classically-trained pianist, also encourages her boys to follow in her footsteps. In 2021, a 6 ½ year old Genesis joined his mom on stage at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem to meet her fans. Keys sang “If I Ain’t Got You” and sweetly said, “This is for him. This is for you.”
As for Keys and Beatz, these high school acquaintances who once wanted nothing to do with each other have been married for more than a decade, and their love seems to grow stronger as time passes. Swizz Beatz often takes to social media to brag about his wife.
In one of his more touching posts, Beatz wrote on his Instagram for Keys's 40th birthday, “I thank your Mom & Dad for bringing you to this earth to make magic. I love the way you love me and love all of our 5 kids. Your music saved so many people with love. Your charity efforts saved millions. You never talk about any of your achievements, but I will.”
