Beyonce & Jay-Z: Is Dating inside the Industry a Good Idea?

With 16 Grammy Awards, 11 MTV Video Music Awards, a Billboard Millennium Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Beyonce has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide. As an actress, her short list of just six films has collectively grossed more than $750 million at box offices worldwide; 3 of which debuted at #1. Finally marrying husband, Jay-Z, in 2008, the two have been together for 10+ years, and recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as 2009’s Power Couple, earning a combined $122 million. In 2011, she set a new world record for most tweets per second after revealing her baby bump live at the MTV Video Music Awards. They’ve always said you can’t have it all but I would argue to say that she does. Beyonce has the career, the man and now the family but is she proof that it can be done or the exception that proves the rule?

There’s no doubt a woman can do any job as well as a man, but often in pursuit of a career she must defer personal goals (a husband, kids, etc). The entertainment industry, with its long hours, late nights and complex social circles, adds an extra layer of difficulty to finding true love. The million dollar question is, “Is it a good idea to date inside the industry?”

We’ve all heard the saying, “You don’t mix business with pleasure,” but when your job is more like a lifestyle, it helps to have someone in your corner that understands it. Having someone that isn’t question every picture you take with someone of the opposite sex or that understands how bad the cell phone reception is in a certain studio can go a long way toward avoiding needless arguments.

On the other hand there’s the awkwardness of having to work with someone if things don’t work out or even worse the possibility of ruining a perfectly good business relationship. From the outside looking in, it would seem Beyonce and Jay-Z, have a perfectly happy relationship. I’m sure some degree of that continuity can be attributed to both understanding the industry and its demands. Share your thoughts with us. Would you rather date someone who is or isn’t in the industry and why?

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