So is THAT the reason for the elevator spat? Explosive new book claims Beyoncé and Jay Z separated for a year amid claims the rapper was having an affair with Rihanna

• New biography of Beyoncé claims she separated from Jay Z for a year
• According to the book, his PRs spread rumors he was dating Rihanna in a bid to boost the 17-year-old's profile ahead of releasing Pon De Replay
• Though they were just rumors, 'Beyoncé couldn't handle the situation' 
• Beyoncé had just one boyfriend before dating and marrying Jay Z

Beyoncé and Jay Z separated for a year amid rumors the rapper was having an affair with Rihanna, an explosive new book claims.

The power couple, who started dating in 2000, allegedly split around the time Jay Z scouted then-17-year-old Rihanna in 2005 and managed the launch of her debut single Pon De Replay. 

And though the rumors were supposedly spread by PRs to boost Rihanna's profile, Beyoncé 'wasn't sure what to make of the situation'.

The astonishing claim comes in a new unauthorized biography by best-selling writer J Randy Taraborrelli titled Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story.

It has led many to revisit the notorious elevator spat between Beyoncé's sister Solange and Jay Z, questioning whether Rihanna really was the root of their dispute.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Beyonce’s publicist for comment on the book, but did not receive an immediate response.

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Beyoncé and Jay Z separated for a year amid rumors the rapper was having an affair with Rihanna, an explosive new book claims. According to the theory it was in 2005, around the time this picture was taken and Rihanna, then 17, released her debut single. At the time, Jay Z was 35 years old and Beyoncé was 24

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Ordeal: It has led many to revisit the notorious elevator spat (pictured) between Beyoncé's sister Solange and Jay Z, questioning whether Rihanna really was the root of their dispute 

Beyoncé, 34, and Jay Z, 45, are now married with a three-year-old daughter Blue Ivy. 

But they have battled through a lot to reach this point, Taraborrelli told Entertainment Tonight on Thursday.

Describing the alleged split, he said: 'Beyoncé didn't know what to make of this, and it actually ended up breaking them up for a time.

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Jay Z took on Rihanna as his protegée when she was 17 and mastered the release of her debut single Pon De Replay. The pair have remained close throughout the decade since. They are pictured together here in 2010

'They spent maybe a year apart from each other because Beyoncé just wasn't sure of what to make of the situation with Rihanna.'

But he adds: 'It's safe to say that Rihanna and Beyoncé are friends.'

According to Taraborrelli's theory, the split would have been around 2005, when Pon De Replay was released. At that time Jay Z was 35, Beyoncé 24, and Rihanna 17.

It would have taken place five years after an 18-year-old Beyoncé appeared on I Got That by Jay Z protegé Amil in 2000, marking the start of her open and very close association with Jay Z.

The pair started dating soon after. They remained under the radar until their 2002 duet, 03 Bonnie & Clyde.

They were pictured together on numerous occasions over the next four years. In 2005 they appeared virtually inseparable, hand-in-hand at every public event they attended. And in January 2006 Beyoncé told Cosmopolitan she had started 'thinking about what kind of wedding I’d want'. 

It is not clear whether Taraborrelli believes the couple were separated at the time of this interview. 

He also addressed the notorious spat of May 2014, when Beyoncé's sister Solange was caught on surveillance camera lashing out at Jay Z in the elevator of New York's Standard Hotel after the Met Gala.  

After a surveillance video of the incident made it's way on the internet without audio, many wondered what caused Beyoncé's 29-year-old sister to violently attack the 99 Problems rapper.

The author spoke to several individuals who are close to Beyoncé, and claimed he has heard from eyewitnesses that the Drunk In Love singer told Jay he could not attend Rihanna's after party at the Met Gala.

The mother-of-one did receive some good news on Thursday as she had a victory in court over one of her hit tracks titled XO released in 2013.

A relatively unknown singer named Ahmad Javon Lane accused the 7/11 hitmaker of copying his tune titled XOXO as the judge ruled that the songs were not very much alike in terms of musically, lyrically or even thematically and the case was ultimately tossed out, according to a Thursday report from TMZ.

The gossip site notes that the ruling party had explained Lane's song was 'explicitly sexual,' while Beyoncé's was more gentle with more romantic symbolism.