"We Were Just Exhausted With Trying": Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith Secretly Separated For 7 Years

Jada Pinkett Smith recently opened up about the actual status of her marriage to Will Smith, sharing a surprising revelation. In interviews, the Girls Trip star disclosed that she and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum had secretly been living separately for the past seven years.

Although this information is coming to light now, Jada confirmed during an interview with Today that their separation began in 2016.

The couple's decision to keep this significant development under wraps has left many wondering why they chose it.

"I think just not being ready yet, still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership and in regards to how do we present that to people," Jada told Hoda Kotb in an interview released October 11. "And we hadn't figured that out."

She also provided some insight into the reasons behind their separation.

"Why it fractured, that's a lot of things," the actress added. "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."

Jada mentioned that she contemplated getting a divorce but chose not to go through with it.

"I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce," she mentioned during the interview, a part of "Jada's Story: An NBC News Special" scheduled to air on October 13. "We will work through whatever, and I just haven't been able to break that promise."

Jada said that they are still working on their relationship.

"We're still figuring it out," the 52-year-old told People in a profile published on October 11.

"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 for us."

Agencies

Jada and Will had secretly separated six years before the 2022 Oscars, where Will won the Best Actor award for his role in King Richard and had a public altercation with Chris Rock over a joke about Jada's shaved head.

AFP

"I thought, 'This is a skit,'" Jada, who lives with alopecia, shared this with the magazine. "I was like, 'There's no way that Will hit him.' It wasn't until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn't a skit."

After the show, Jada recalls asking her husband if he was okay and recognizing that he was still on his own personal journey.

"I'm going to be by his side," she added, "but also allow him to have to figure this out for himself."

After the slap, Will resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and received a 10-year ban from its events.

He publicly apologized to Chris, acknowledging that the slap was "unacceptable" and stressing that Jada was not involved in his actions.

Chris discussed the incident in his 2023 Netflix comedy special, "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage," clarifying that nobody was targeting Jada.

Jada has maintained a relatively low profile regarding the incident, expressing her wish that the two men involved would have a chance to reconcile and resolve their differences.

Jada and Will married in 1997 after divorcing Sheree Zampino, with whom he shares a 30-year-old son named Trey Smith.

"Will called me up one day and said, 'Hit me when you get to L.A.' and then ... click. And I was like, 'Whoa. Okay,'" Jada told People. "And so when I got to L.A., I called him. I haven't been able to get rid of him since."

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Throughout the years, Jada and Will, who have two children together, Jaden Smith (25) and Willow Smith (22), have attracted media attention as they've navigated the various phases of their relationship.

This includes a notable moment when Jada referred to her involvement with August Alsina as an "entanglement" in a 2020 episode of Red Table Talk.

In addition to her recent interviews with Today and People, where she discussed her mental health journey and past struggles with suicidal thoughts, Jada also shares her experiences in her forthcoming book, "Worthy," set to be released on October 17.

According to a press release for the book People previously obtained, "at the heart of this powerful book are two unexpected love stories, one being Jada's complicated marriage to Will Smith, and the other being the one with herself."

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