Tina Knowles’ memoir Matriarch dropped on April 23, and if you’ve been anywhere near the internet this past week, you know folks have been talking. She’s been on a full press run — sitting down with Gayle King, popping up on The Read, and even pulling up to Keep It! — and what’s clear through it all is this: Tina is telling her story, her way.
The book doesn’t read like a PR move or a clean-cut “momager” memoir (she doesn’t idetify as a stage parent anyway). It’s deeply personal, sometimes messy, and often emotional — which is what makes it so compelling. It’s not about name-dropping or recapping what we already know about her famous daughters. It’s about how Tina became Tina. Here are seven moments from Matriarch that stuck with me — for what they revealed, and how they made me think differently about womanhood, motherhood, and becoming yourself again and again.
Uncle Johnny Was More Than Just Beyoncé’s Muse
If you know Renaissance, you’ve heard Beyoncé sing “Uncle Johnny made my dress,” but Matriarch makes it clear that Johnny was a vital part of Tina’s world long before the Grammys and red carpets. Johnny was Tina’s nephew, and growing up in Galveston, Texas, he was openly gay in a family that held him close and protected him fiercely.
Tina writes about how their relationship shaped her — how they’d go to gay bars together, how she saw the world through his eyes, and how he helped her raise her kids. It’s not a tribute in the traditional sense, but Matriarch honors him. You can feel the love. And honestly? I wish more families created that kind of safety for their queer kin.
Her Relationship With Her Mother Was Loving… and Complicated
Tina is the youngest of seven, born when her mother was in her 40s. Her mom had two kids in a previous, abusive marriage before meeting Tina’s father, who stepped in and raised all the kids as his own — their names were even listed in his obituary like they were biologically his. That tells you something.
Tina talks about her mother being her best friend when she was little, but also how she felt let down by her in moments. There was an especially painful incident involving racist nuns at a Catholic school. That hurt stayed with her. Still, when Tina grew up and saw how other mother-daughter relationships looked, she realized her mom wasn’t cold — she was scared. That’s a hard truth a lot of us come to about our parents.
There’s a gut-punch moment when Tina describes her mom holding on to life in the hospital — almost like she was waiting for Tina to leave the room. Tina finally drifted off to sleep when a family friend visited and when she woke up, her mother was gone. I sat with that for a while.
The Fashion World Tried to Disrespect Her — But She Held Her Own
Tina was never formally trained as a designer, and she’s honest about how that fed into her insecurity. Styling Destiny’s Child from the ground up wasn’t easy, and when Sony tried to get rid of her, they didn’t even go to her directly — they went to Mathew. Tina says she was ready to walk away, but Mathew turned the lights off in the meeting and basically said, “Destiny’s Child is the power bill.” Not in those exact words, but you get the point.
She admits the criticism stung. People clowning the outfits, questioning her credentials — it hurt. But she kept going. And that’s what makes her story real: she didn’t come into this world already respected. She had to prove herself — to others and to herself.
Her Marriage to Mathew Knowles Was Never a Fairytale
Tina doesn’t sugarcoat her relationship with her ex-husband Mathew Knowles. She says there was infidelity early on, even when they were still newlyweds. The day she brought new-born Solange home from the hospital, he left for a vacation — and she suspected he wasn’t alone.
Opening her beauty salon, Headliners, wasn’t just about passion. It was about survival. She needed her own money because Mathew’s impulsive decisions often put their finances at risk. Even after filing for divorce in 2009, Tina admits she still fell back into old patterns and kept seeing him for a while. Therapy helped her finally break the cycle.
It’s raw. It’s honest. And it reminds you that even strong women sometimes need help choosing themselves.
Learning to Live Alone Was a Hard but Necessary Lesson
One of the most striking things Tina shares is how hard it was for her to live by herself. She grew up surrounded by a huge family. She was married for decades. Solitude wasn’t just new — it was terrifying.
Even during her marriage to Richard Lawson, she admits she hadn’t fully learned how to be on her own. Now, after their divorce, she says she’s finally at peace with herself. At 71, she’s clear: she’d rather be alone and at peace than stay with someone just to say she has somebody.
I just grew up at 69 and realized I deserved so much more.
That level of honesty? That’s growth a lot of people never reach.
She Let Her Daughters Be Who They Were Meant to Be
Tina makes it clear: she wasn’t a stage mom. She didn’t push Beyoncé or Solange into the spotlight. She actually didn’t want that life for them.
But she also knew she couldn’t stand in the way of their gifts. Beyoncé was quiet, reserved, and shy everywhere except the stage. Solange craved her own path, staying in Houston while the rest of the family hit the road. Tina respected both.
She also put her daughters into therapy early. She didn’t wait for fame to crash down before giving them tools to navigate it. And while Celestine mothered her own kids, her niece Angie Beyincé, Kelly, and others who came into her orbit.
Tina Gave Us a Glimpse Into Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s World — But Kept the Rest Private
If you’re looking for gossip about Beyoncé and Jay-Z in this book, you won’t find it. Tina shares what she’s comfortable sharing — and leaves the rest alone. So while there’s no mention of the 2014 Met Gala elevator incident, she does give the Beyhive a glimpse into the power couple’s dynamic.
Mama Tina talks about helping cook for their small, intimate wedding. She describes how Jay-Z’s family embraced the Knowles. She mentions how he surprised her with a 40th birthday trip to Italy, flying out her closest friends.
But the real takeaway? Tina is loyal. She’s not spilling anything that’s not hers to tell. And honestly, that’s the kind of boundary work that deserves its own celebration.
Final Thoughts on Tina Knowles’ Matriarch
Matriarch by Tina Knowles isn’t a tea-spilling memoir. It’s a love letter — to her family, to the people who shaped her, and to the woman she had to fight to become. Tina Knowles shows us that even when you’ve lived a big life, there’s still room to keep growing, healing, and choosing yourself.
