Tina Knowles Shares a Heartwarming Memory of Beyoncé During Her Secret Pregnancy at a Concert
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During her 2011 concert special, *A Night With Beyoncé*, the acclaimed artist was just two months pregnant with her first child, Blue Ivy, and experienced severe nausea throughout the performance. Remarkably, this condition went unnoticed by the audience.
Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, shared a clip from the concert on Instagram, recalling the performance as a testament to her daughter’s professionalism. “This just came across my feed! It took me down memory lane,” Knowles wrote on January 6, reflecting on the resilience her daughter displayed that evening.
Knowles reminisced, “This is one of the hardest shows we’ve ever done. Beyoncé was about two months pregnant with Blue and as nauseated as she could be. In between songs, she would run back and throw up and come out and do the next song.”
She emphasized how this experience revealed Beyoncé’s strength as a performer: “We couldn’t tell anyone about the pregnancy … As sick as she was, she got through the show and killed her performances. All the band and crew knew was she was sick.”
The ITV special aired in December 2011. Earlier that year, Beyoncé announced her pregnancy with Jay-Z at the MTV Video Music Awards, famously debuting her baby bump after performing “Love On Top.”
In 2017, the couple welcomed twins Rumi and Sir. Knowles frequently reflects on pivotal moments in her daughter’s career on social media, elaborating on their journey in her memoir, *Matriarch*, published in April 2025. The book topped *The New York Times* bestseller lists for hardcover nonfiction and combined print & E-book nonfiction.
In *Matriarch*, Knowles addresses public skepticism surrounding Beyoncé’s first pregnancy, which stemmed from an optical illusion during a TV interview. “The worst thing is that people had no idea how hard it was for Beyoncé to go through multiple miscarriages, and then when finally blessed to carry a baby to term, the world starts heckling you as you both try to make it to the finish line,” she stated.
She emphasized the deep significance of the pregnancy: “This child was prayed for and prayed over — a wanted, cherished, real baby, and people were making a living off saying she was a lie.”
