Jada Pinkett Smith has made a startling confession that she and her husband, Will Smith, have not been living together for the past seven years. In a shocking interview with People, Jada opens up about how the couple grew ‘exhausted’ by their attempts to save their ‘fractured’ marriage, and how they made the decision to live apart. In a new interview with NBC News, Jada provides more details about their separation, and what it means for their relationship.
Jada went on to explain the toll that the breakdown of her marriage had taken on both her and Will, saying: ‘We didn’t know how to meet each other’s needs. We had been doing this dance for a long time, and we were just at the point where we couldn’t keep up the facade anymore.’ It was clear that the toll on their relationship had taken its toll on them both, both personally and professionally.
Jada, who admitted in 2020 that she’d had an affair with singer August Alsina, said she considered a legal divorce but could never go through with it, revealing that she made a ‘promise’ to her husband that she would never give him a ‘reason’ to get divorced.
‘I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce,’ she continued. ‘We will work through whatever. And I just haven’t been able to break that promise.’
‘But you still live separately?’ Hoda probed, prompting Jada to confirm ‘we live separately’.
Speaking to People, Jada admitted the pair were in fact living separately when her husband slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022 over a joke that had been made about his wife’s bald hairstyle.
She noted that no permanent decisions have been made about the future of her marriage, explaining that she and Will are ‘still figuring it out’.
Jada went on to praise her children, Jaden, 25, Willow, 22, and Trey, 30, who is Will’s son from a previous relationship for standing by her during this rocky time in her relationship.
‘My children, they’re little gurus. They’ve taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance,’ she said. ‘They love every part of me. The level of love, unconditional love that they have for me and their dad.
‘We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together,’ she said. ‘We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like.’
‘And it’s one thing to want to be the person that gives that unconditional love. And then there’s, to be the recipient of that.’