Jada Pinkett has dropped a bombshell that her and Will Smith have been separated from each other since 2016.
In a revealing interview with Today to promote her new memoir Worthy, the veteran Hollywood actor told Hoda Kotb that although her and Will are still legally married, they aren’t together anymore.
Jada Pinkett admitted that the reason she didn’t come out and explicitly announce that she and the Fresh Prince weren’t a couple anymore was because she was “not ready yet,” and was still trying to “figure how to be in partnership.”
She also said that were “a lot of things” that caused their marriage to dissolve, and by 2016, they both were “exhausted with trying” because they were “stuck in a fantasy of what the other person should be.”
Jada Pinkett admitted that she promised to never get a divorce and hasn’t been able to break the promise, but her and Will Smith live separate lives.
The full version of the interview will be released on October 13, but you can check out a clip below.
Jada’s candid admission comes on the heels of various incidences involving the former Hollywood power couple.
During the 2022 Oscar’s, Chris Rock decided to tell a joke about Jada Pinkett’s then-her bald head — a condition known as alopecia. Pinkett rolled her eyes at the joke which made it clear that she was upset by the jab.
Then, the famed comedian said, “Uh oh” as Will Smith boldly walked onstage and slapped him in the face. The sound then cut out as Smith was filmed shouting at Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!” While his words weren’t audible, it was easy to discern what he was saying by just reading his lips.
In the uncensored version, Rock told Smith it was “just a G.I. Jane joke,” but he fired back again, “Keep my wife’s name of your fucking mouth!!” Rock replied, “I’m going to” and followed up with, “That was the greatest night in television.”
Then back in 2020, they both sat down on an episode of Red Table Talk to discuss Jada Pinkett’s relationship with August Alsina.
According to Jada, she began a friendship with Alsina that originated with her wanting to help his health and mental state. Smith said when Alsina first came around, the New Orleans-bred singer was really sick. Soon after, Jada and Will started going through a difficult time in their relationship.
“I was done with yo ass,” Will recalled feeling about Jada.
During their separation, Jada got into a “different kind of entanglement” with Alsina.
“It was a relationship,” she said following some prompting from Will during the episode. “I was in a lot of pain and I was very broken. Now, in the process of that relationship, I definitely realized that you can’t find happiness outside of yourself. And luckily enough, [Will] and I were also going through a process of healing in a much different manner.”
While Smith didn’t give Alsina permission to date his wife as the singer previously claimed, Jada said she understood how it could be perceived that way. She believes Alsina didn’t want to be viewed as a homewrecker and insisted he wasn’t one.
“I would definitely say we [The Smiths] did everything we could to get away from each other only to realize that wasn’t possible,” she stated at the time.
Jada said she got into the relationship with Alsina to “feel good” again. She enjoyed helping heal someone, but while they were dating, she learned she was trying to fix others instead of fixing herself.