Alicia Keys on Marie Claire cover

Alicia Keys on Marie Claire cover

Alicia Keys "didn't really like" her husband Swizz Beatz when she first met him.

The 33-year-old singer used to find the rapper - who she has now been married to for three years - "annoying" because he was always showing off by speeding around in his top-of-the range car and wearing chunky jewellery.

Speaking in an interview with Marie Claire magazine, she said:"Swizz will have the fastest car, the biggest jewellery, the loudest jacket; everything with him is really over the top. I used to see him and think, 'He is so annoying.' "

Alicia - who first met Swizz when she was a teenager after they were introduced through a mutual friend - claims the 34-year-old hip-hop artist was the inspiration behind her 'That's When I Knew' track - which is from her fifth studio album 'Girl On Fire' - because the lyrics describe how "all of a sudden" she fell in love with him.

Alicia - who has a two-year-old son Egypt with Swizz - explained: "'That's When I Knew' is definitely an ode to my husband... Honestly I didn't really like him that much. I thought he was too ostentatious."

Alicia believes she and her husband have a great relationship because they have been able to teach each other new things and grow together.

She said:" I think we've taught each other a lot. He's taught me to live more fully and I think I've taught him to live more deeply."

The full interview can be read in the Marie Claire magazine, out now.