Jada Pinkett Smith 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 arenât together anymore.
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Jada Pinkett admitted that the reason she didnât come out and explicitly announce that she and the Fresh Prince werenât a couple anymore was because she was ânot ready yet,â and was still trying to âfigure how to be in partnership.â
She also said that were âa lot of thingsâ that caused their marriage to dissolve, and by 2016, they both were âexhausted with tryingâ because they were âstuck in a fantasy of what the other person should be.â
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Jada Pinkett admitted that she promised to never get a divorce and hasnât 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.
Jadaâs candid admission comes on the heels of various incidences involving the former Hollywood power couple.
During the 2022 Oscarâs, Chris Rock decided to tell a joke about Jada Pinkettâs then-her bald head â a condition known as alopecia. Pinkett rolled her eyes at the joke which made it clear that she was upset by the jab.
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Then, the famed comedian said, âUh ohâ as Will Smith boldly walked onstage and slapped him in the face. The sound then cut out as Smith was filmed shouting at Rock, âKeep my wifeâs name out of your fucking mouth!â While his words werenât audible, it was easy to discern what he was saying by just reading his lips.
In the uncensored version, Rock told Smith it was âjust a G.I. Jane joke,â but he fired back again, âKeep my wifeâs name of your fucking mouth!!â Rock replied, âIâm going toâ and followed up with, âThat was the greatest night in television.â
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Then back in 2020, they both sat down on an episode of Red Table Talk to discuss Jada Pinkettâs 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.
âI was done with yo ass,â Will recalled feeling about Jada.
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During their separation, Jada got into a âdifferent kind of entanglementâ with Alsina.
âIt was a relationship,â she said following some prompting from Will during the episode. âI was in a lot of pain and I was very broken. Now, in the process of that relationship, I definitely realized that you canât find happiness outside of yourself. And luckily enough, [Will] and I were also going through a process of healing in a much different manner.â
While Smith didnât 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 didnât want to be viewed as a homewrecker and insisted he wasnât one.
âI would definitely say we [The Smiths] did everything we could to get away from each other only to realize that wasnât possible,â she stated at the time.
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Jada said she got into the relationship with Alsina to âfeel goodâ again. She enjoyed helping heal someone, but while they were dating, she learned she was trying to fix others instead of fixing herself.