Prior to the filing on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, Tina Knowles would have had the number of her ex-husbands as 1. This would be mentioning just her first husband, Matthew Knowles. However, now we are counting her husband of 8 years, Richard Lawson, too.
The first of her marriages can be said to be the most iconic not just because it lasted for 3 decades but because it saw the birth of superstars in their children, Beyonce Knowles and her sister, Solange.
As for her second marriage, she prayed explicitly for the man and God answered her prayers.
Tina Knowles knew her second husband, Richard for almost as long as her first marriage lasted. However, they didn’t become an item until that marriage was no longer in the way.
Tina Knowles was Married to Matthew Knowles for More than 30 Years
Celestine Ann Beyonce-Knowles got married to record executive, businessman, and father of her daughters, Matthew Knowles in 1980.
The couple met way back in the 70s in Houston when the businessman was just getting done with his university education. Matthew graduated from Fisk University in Nashville with a degree in business administration.
At that time, his future wife was just getting into junior college and had a side hustle as a salesperson.
They dated for a few years and eventually got married in 1980. A year after their marriage, Tina and Matthew welcomed their first child, daughter, 43-year-old Beyonce Knowles-Carter.
Years later, they birthed their second daughter, Solange Knowles, (38) who is also a well-known musician.
Matthew and Tina were huge supporters of their daughters’ careers in music. Knowles was the manager of the 1990s Girl’s Tyme band which rebranded to Destiny’s Child. Tina was in charge of the band’s costumes and what the girls wore to perform.
Girl’s Tyme consisted of Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson, and LaToya Luckett. When they rebranded in 1997 following their signing to Columbia Records, the girl band was called Destiny’s Child. It consisted of 2 former members, Beyonce and Kelly Rowland, and a new member, Michelle Williams.
Matthew served as the group’s manager and co-founder until they disbanded in 2006. He however continued to manage the girls’ individual careers until he was fired by his daughter, Beyonce in March 2011.
Despite the end of his rodeo with his daughter, Matthew continues to manage other gospel artists.
In 2019, Matthew Knowles revealed that he was diagnosed with breast cancer. He underwent a mastectomy after noticing blood stains on his shirt. Luckily, he noticed in the early stages of the disease and didn’t have to undergo chemotherapy.
Her First Marriage Ended Amidst Her Ex-husband’s Cheatings
Tina and Matthew first dropped a hint of parting ways in 2009 with the mother of 2 filing for divorce. On the day when they were supposed to appear for the court hearing, neither of them made themselves available. Eventually, the case was ruled out following their unavailability.
What led to Tina filing for divorce? It wasn’t explicitly stated. Subsequently, with Matthew fathering 2 kids outside his marriage, one can easily assume this was an eventual cause.
Knowles fathered a son named Nixon with Alexsandra Wright in 2010. He initially denied paternity but a DNA test result proved otherwise.
In the same year, Matthew fathered another child, a girl named Koi with TaQoya Branscomb. He also denied being the father of the girl claiming he had a vasectomy prior to his affair with Branscomb. However, another paternity test proved him wrong.
In the face of all these scandalous revelations, a divorce was imminent even though it took a while.
After dragging their feet since 2009, Tina finally filed for another divorce. This divorce was finalized in December 2011.
In 2011, Matthew lost both his position as his daughter’s manager as well as his marriage.
There seems to be no bad blood between Matthew and his daughter and ex-wife, though.
1 year and a few months after Tina’s divorce from her ex-husband, he remarried. Matthew Knowles married a former model named Gena Charmaine Avery, in Houston in 2013.
His daughters were, unfortunately, unavailable to attend his second wedding.
The former model is said to have been the one who first noticed that Matthew was sick before his 2019 diagnosis.
4 Years After Her First Divorce, Tina Knowles Rekindled a Relationship with an Actor
While her ex-husband remarried barely 2 years after their marriage crashed, Tina waited for almost 5 years.
She remarried 77-year Richard Lee Lawson in April 2015 after being with him since 2013. She was 61 while Richard was 68, at the time.
Richard is an actor who has had well over 100 acting credits to his name. He is also known for his production career. Most of his renowned works are; For Colored Girls, Poltergeist, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
Richard was previously married to Denise Gordy for 11 years (1978 to 1989). Together they welcomed a daughter named Bianca Lawson (45), born on March 20, 1979.
Bianca followed in her father’s acting steps and is an actress known for roles played in movies such as Rogue, Pretty Little Liars, and Goode Behavior.
When his marriage with Denise ended, Lawson went on to start another relationship soon after. He was in a relationship with Rachelle Fields for a couple of years and they even got engaged. Through the relationship, they welcomed a child together named Richard ‘Ricky’ Landon Lawson in 1992. Ricky Lawson is a Grammy-nominated songwriter and Artist and Repertoire.
Back when the actor was still married to his first wife, he met Tina through his sister, her friend. He admitted that they met when Beyonce’s mother came to visit his sister in Oakland. Celestine Ann Beyonce (Beyonce’s mother) was already pregnant with her first daughter.
According to Lawson, he thought Tina was the prettiest woman he had ever seen. He also admitted that they shared a lot together including their love for humanity.
They were married to other people at the time and respected their marriages but remained friends. Richard revealed that they occasionally saw each other during those times.
When Beyonce’s career took off, Richard and the House of Dereon owner began to see less often. Eventually, her first marriage ended and they reconciled.
Celestine Ann Beyonce Remarried in 2015
The relationship between Tina Knowles and Richard Lawson began in May 2013 and by 2014 they were official.
After secretly crushing on her for many years, Richard had the opportunity to make Ms. Tina his wife. They got engaged in October 2014 and on April 12, 2015, they were married on a Yacht off Newport Beach.
The dress code for the night ceremony was all white. Beyonce, her husband, Jay-Z, and their daughter, Blue-Ivy were present. The ceremony was also graced by Solange, her son, and Lawson’s daughter, actress, Bianca.
Tina revealed that her marriage was sort of inspired by her granddaughter, Blue-Ivy. She said Blue complimented her and Richard one evening when the entire family consisting of her daughter, Jay Z, and their child was out for dinner. She also asked when she and Lawson would get married. The actor replied that it would be soon and that was the first time they had a conversation about marriage.
Tina Lawson also confessed that she prayed for her husband. She didn’t think that she would remarry after spending 30 years of her life with her first husband.
However, she said when she started welcoming the idea of remarrying, she began to pray for the type of man she would want. God listened to her prayers and gave her Richard Lawson who fit the bill.
Together, they launched a foundation called WACO Theatre Center. WACO stands for ‘Where Art Can Occur’. It is a community aimed at encouraging artists to be themselves always.
April 2023 made their marriage 8 years in.
Tina Lawson wants Her Last Name Changed Back to Knowles Following Divorce From Richard
On Wednesday, July 26, 2023, Tina Lawson filed for divorce from her husband of 8 years, Richard. The reason for the divorce was cited as ‘irreconcilable differences’ and Tina asked for a waiver of spousal support. She also plans on a last name reversal from Lawson to Knowles.
Rumors began to spark about a possible split early in the year when Lawson wasn’t by Tina’s side during Beyonce’s return to tour.
The actor however shut them down by saying that he was away shooting that was why he was unavailable. He convinced fans and followers that there was nothing wrong with his marriage.
Unfortunately, 3 months after their 8 th year anniversary, their marriage seems to have ended.
As seen through the journey, this would be the 70-year-old’s second divorce. It is also the American actor’s second recorded divorce seeing that his relationship with Rachelle has no record of ending in marriage.
She had no kids with Richard Lawson and only serves as a bonus mom to his kids, Bianca and Ricky.
Lawson was also the step-dad to Beyonce, Solange, and Kelly Rowland whom Tina welcomed into her home since she was 11 years old.
There would be no need for child support either and the ex-couple would have to figure out a way to co-manage the foundation they founded together.
