Beyonce: My Marriage to Jay-Z Works Because "We Were Friends First"

USMagazine, Friday, February 15, 2013, 7:30am (PST)

Beyonce is one of the most powerful women in the entertainment industry, due in large part to the unwavering support of her husband, Jay-Z. The multiplatinum singer opens up about their four-year marriage during a candid conversation with Oprah Winfrey on Oprah's Next Chapter.

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"I would not be the woman I am if I did not go home to that man," Beyonce, 31, says of the rapper and hip-hop mogul, 43. "It just gives me such a foundation."

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Explaining that Blue Ivy's father encourages her "on so many levels," Beyonce says the "99 Problems" hit maker is the man she'd always dreamed of marrying. "We were friends first," she explains. "Before we went on any dates, we were on the phone for a year and a half. That foundation is so important in a relationship. Just to have someone that you just like is so important -- and someone that is honest!"

The notoriously private couple rarely talk about the dynamics of their union, something Winfrey advised Beyonce to do many years ago. "I remember the first time you were on the Oprah show and I told you, 'Don't go around telling people who you're dating,'" the 59-year-old TV mogul says. "I think you took that all the way!"

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Laughing, Beyonce explains, "I took it as far as I could take it!"

Oprah's Next Chapter airs Saturday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m. EST on OWN.

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Beyonce: My Marriage to Jay-Z Works Because "We Were Friends First"