Alicia Keys: Swizz Beatz Was 'So Annoying' At First, Singer Tells Marie Claire About Her Husband [VIDEO]
Alicia Keys did not like her husband Swizz Beatz when she first met him, she told Marie Claire UK for their July 2013 issue.
Keys, who is on the European leg of her Set the World on Fire tour, admitted that she was at first turned off by her husband of nearly three years. She felt that he was too flashy compared to her more demure tastes.
"Swizz will have the fastest car, the biggest jewelry, the loudest jacket; everything with him is really over the top," Keys, 32, said. "I used to see him and think, he is so annoying."
However, the Girl on Fire singer began to see a different side of the producer after spending more time with him. She confided that the song That's When I Knew from her new album Girl On Fire is about him. It is a ballad about finding one's soul mate.
"[It] is definitely an ode to my husband," Keys said. "Honestly, I didn't really like him that much. I thought he was too ostentatious."
Keys eventually overcame her initial feelings for Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem David Dean. The two married on July 31, 2010 and welcomed their son, Egypt, that October.
She feels their bond has only grown stronger over the years, and added that the two of them have learned from the other. Keys added that her personal growth came from being able to assert herself more. She said that getting older allowed her more freedom to be more relaxed in saying what she felt.
"I think we've taught each other a lot," she said. "He's taught me to live more fully and I think I've taught him to live more deeply...You have to speak up. To say, 'I don't like that, it's not cool, don't do that to me', but it's not easy, especially with people you love."
Keys will release her 2012 episode of VH1 Storytellers in CD and DVD formatting, announced Wednesday. It will be available for purchase June 25. She called her participation in the series fun and fulfilling.
"It allowed me to do what I love most when I perform, and that's interacting with the audience and getting to share a little more with them in an intimate setting," she said. "There's a story behind every song - and now I've been able to really tell a few of them."
Watch a clip of Keys on VH1's Storytellers.
