Jay Z 'told Tina to get a toy boy'

Beyoncé Knowles' mother Tina says Jay Z encouraged her to date a younger man after her divorce.

The 61-year-old married Matthew, the father of her daughters Beyoncé, 33, and Solange, 28, in 1980 but filed for divorce in 2009.

According to New York Post's Page Six, the businesswoman opens up about life after the split in a new interview with Ebony magazine. And it was her eldest daughter's husband, rapper Jay Z, who had some advice on hand, suggesting she go for men younger than her.

However, Tina did things her way and wed 68-year-old actor Richard Lawson in April. But if anyone was worried they might not have the energy for romance, they're far out.

"Our sex life is active; it's really good," she smiled in the interview.

And her relationship with ex Matthew remains civil, with Tina adding he is "family to this day".

Beyoncé and her family set the rumour mill in a spin at the Met Gala last year, when footage emerged of Solange having a bust up with Jay Z in a lift, which resulted in her physically attacking him.

They never opened up about the issues behind the spat but Tina did address her youngest's feisty nature.

"She is tough, but I have seen her completely give up her life to take care of somebody she loves," the mother said of Solange, who has ten-year-old son Daniel from her first marriage to Daniel Smith.

The singer also tied the knot in the last year, marrying music video director Alan Ferguson in New Orleans, Louisiana in November.