In a chat with Hoda Kotb on the Today show, Jada Pinkett-Smith made a shocking revelation about her marriage to Will Smith. The actress explained in an interview with People and NBC News that she and Will have been secretly separated for seven years due to their tumultuous marriage.
While on tour to promote her new book, Jada broke down on TV to Hoda about the challenging side of her relationship with Will, noting that they were “stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.” She added that “by the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying.”
Jada and Will live apart from each other
Jada confirmed that she and her husband have been living separately— even during the 2022 Oscars, where Will slapped comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about her bald hairstyle. She clarified that they have made no permanent decisions about their marriage and are ‘still figuring it out.’ “We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together. We just got a deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like,” she added.
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The recent update was unexpected as the couple have denied several negative gossip about their union and have kept up appearances together. While giving his Oscars acceptance speech, Will sobbed into the mic and referenced the assault on Chris, saying, “…love makes you do crazy things.”
at the 47TH NAACP Image Awards Arrivals, Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, CA 02-05-16
However, some chaos ensued within the Smith household in 2020 when Jada’s relationship with her son’s friend, August, became public. The 52-year-old claimed she and Will had “basically broken up” at the time due to a “difficult time” in their marriage. The couple also denied August’s claims that he had Will’s blessing to date his wife.
No divorce in sight for the Smiths
Despite one jarring news after another, the celebrity couple are still sticking together under the pact that they would no matter what. “I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through whatever,” Jada admitted. “And I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”
The show host also referenced the part of Jada’s book where she wrote about their separation being like a divorce but not a paper, to which the mother of two responded that she did consider an actual legal divorce if not for her promise.
The Red Table Talk show host commended her children— Jaden, Willow, and Trey, her stepson, for their perseverance during the hard times. “My children, they’re little gurus. They’ve taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance. They love every part of me. The level of love, unconditional love that they have for me and their dad,” she said.