Jada Pinkett Smith, the American actress, made a shocking revelation that she and Will Smith have been separated since 2016. She disclosed this during a clip from her upcoming primetime special on NBC News with Hoda Kotb. According to her, the couple chose not to announce their separation at that time because they were not emotionally prepared. She clarified that, while they are not divorced, they have been leading separate lives since 2016.
In her conversation with Kotb, Pinkett-Smith emphasized that they concealed the separation because they were still trying to understand their relationship dynamics and how to navigate their partnership.
She explained, “We were still trying to figure out between the two of us, how to be in partnership, How do we present that to people? We hadn’t figured that out.”
When asked about the reasons behind the marital issues, Pinkett-Smith mentioned that they were both living in illusions of what they expected each other to be. By 2016, they grew weary of trying to fulfill those expectations.
Regarding their impending divorce, Pinkett-Smith pointed out that they couldn’t proceed with it due to a promise they made to each other never to divorce. She stated, “Why it fractured, that’s a lot of things,” the actress stated, “I think by the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be. I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce, We will work through whatever, and I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”
Their marriage has been under the public eye for years, especially after her confession of a sexual involvement with singer August Alsina while still married to Smith. She revealed this during an episode of her talk show, Red Table Talk, in 2020, with Smith as her guest, visibly hurt by her confession.
Subsequently, the widely reported incident occurred when Smith slapped his long-time friend Chris Rock at the 2021 Oscars for making Pinkett-Smith the subject of his joke. The slap, during a live television broadcast, shocked everyone, including Pinkett-Smith, who initially thought it was a skit. Smith was banned from Oscars events for ten years and later resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
The couple shares two children, Jaden Smith (25 years old) and Willow Smith (22 years old). In her forthcoming memoir, “Worthy,” Pinkett Smith offers more insights into her marriage, professional background, and early years.