Wedding bells rang for Gloria Carter, the mother of Jay-Z and grandmother of Blue Ivy, Sir, and Rumi. She wed longtime partner Roxanne Wiltshire in New York City last weekend. TMZ shared photos of the big day.
Many celeb friends were on hand to witness the couple’s happiness and commitment to each other. Family members such as Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Tina Knowles-Lawson were there, of course. They were joined by Kelly Rowland, Tyler Perry, and Robin Roberts.
Beyonce slayed as usual, wearing a peach-colored skirt and a matching Dolce & Gabbana corset bodysuit under a feathered jacket. She accessorized with a peach lace handbag. Blue Ivy wore a silk Reformation gown in sage green, complete with strappy heels.
Like most artists, Jay-Z uses his life experiences to create his raps. Gloria coming out to him was a big life experience, which found its way into his track "Smile" in 2017. "Mama had four kids, but she's a lesbian/Had to pretend so long that she's a thespian/Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate/Society shame and the pain was too much to take," the lyrics begin.
More from LittleThings: Jay-Z Admits That He Finally Learned To Swim After His Daughter Blue Ivy Was Born
Jay-Z was happy his mother found the courage to live her truth and wholeheartedly accepted her. "Cried tears of joy when you fell in love/Don't matter to me if it's a him or her/I just wanna see you smile through all the hate/Marie Antoinette, baby, let 'em eat cake,” the song went on to say.
Jay-Z spoke to David Letterman in 2018 about this experience on the Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. He said the lyrics were absolutely true and he did shed happy tears when his mother told him about Roxanne. "Imagine having to live your life as someone else and you think you're protecting your kids," he began.
"For her to sit in front of me and tell me 'I think I love someone,' I really cried … I cried because I was so happy for her that she was free," he explained. A son always wants what is best for his mother and to see her experience joy. Love is love is love.
Gloria also spoke about the experience on the D'Usse Friday podcast in 2017. "I was sitting there and I was telling him one day,” she recalled. “I just finally started telling him who I was. Besides your mother, this is the person that I am, you know? This is the life that I lived.”
"So my son started actually, like, tearing because he was like, 'That had to be a horrible life, Ma.' I was like, 'My life was never horrible. It was just different.' So that made him want to do a song about it,” she concluded. A mother’s strength can inspire a son to create meaningful art.
