Beyonce Knowles is pleased she waited until she was 26 to marry rap mogul Jay-Z - because she had time to "get to know" herself before she became a wife.

The Crazy In Love hitmaker wed the hip-hop star in a secret ceremony earlier this year - but it wasn't a rash decision on the singer's part

She tells U.S. magazine Seventeen, "I was 18 when we first met, 19 when we first started dating. There was no rush.

"I really don't believe that you will love the same thing when you're 20 as you do at 30."

The singer wanted to get to fully understand her own mind before committing herself to marriage.

Knowles adds, "Before the age of 25, I would never get married. I feel like you have to get to know yourself, know what you want, spend some time by yourself, and be proud of who you are before you can share that with someone else."