A recent TV appearance by Mathew Knowles took an unexpected turn when a question about Tina Knowles briefly stalled the conversation.
Mathew sat down with PIX 11 anchor Kendis Gibson on the show Kandid with Kendis to discuss his ongoing Destiny’s Child tribute tour. During the interview, Gibson praised both Mathew and Tina for their years of work building the careers of their daughters and the group that would become one of the most successful R&B acts of all time.
“You’ve earned your flowers,” Gibson told him. “You guys put in the work.”
Mathew responded by asking, “What work did she put in?”
The exchange appeared to catch Gibson off guard. He answered with a quick reminder: “The hair.”
That prompted a pause before Mathew acknowledged her role. “OK, you’re absolutely right,” he said. “And the styling. The imaging. You’re right.”
For longtime fans of Destiny’s Child, Tina’s contributions are well documented. Before Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams were dressing in custom designer looks, Tina was designing stage outfits and creating the group’s signature visual identity.
A trained hairstylist who owned a Houston salon, she crafted the coordinated ensembles and bold looks that became central to the group’s image in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
The interview wrapped shortly after the exchange. As Gibson stood up, he asked, “Did I say something wrong?” Mathew later said he ended the conversation because it had “started on a bad note,” adding that he believed the focus should have remained on the Destiny’s Child tribute concert he’s currently promoting.
According to Page Six, the production disputed the suggestion that the host was off-topic, saying Gibson was “giving them their flowers” and acknowledging the years of work both parents put into building the brand.
Mathew and Tina were married for 31 years before finalizing their divorce in 2011.
In her 2025 memoir Matriarch, Tina wrote candidly about the breakdown of their marriage, describing what she called a “continuous problem with fidelity” and revealing that learning through the press that Mathew had fathered a child outside the marriage in 2009 was the breaking point. She has said the relationship became “unsupportable” and emotionally exhausting before she chose to leave.
Despite their history, the two have presented a united front in recent years. Mathew appeared onstage during a stop on Tina’s book tour, where she told the audience, “Neither one of us has ever badmouthed each other, ever.”
Mathew is currently touring with Destiny’s Child: Iconic Reimagined, a classical-inspired tribute to the group’s catalog. The next performance is scheduled for March 27 in Nashville.