Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith have been Hollywood royalty since tying the knot in 1997, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune to marriage troubles. In an interview with NBC News’ Hoda Kotb to promote her upcoming memoir Worthy, Pinkett Smith confirmed that she and her husband have been living separately—and essentially divorced—since 2016.
Pinkett Smith revealed in a teaser clip from an upcoming Red Table Talk episode that airs on Oct. 13, as well as a preview of her book. She says she and Will have been “living completely separate lives” since 2016, but she doesn’t plan on taking that next step of legally splitting up.
In addition to revealing the separation, she also discussed how the Oscar slap controversy brought her and Will closer together. The pair was amid a media firestorm last year after Will slapped comedian Chris Rock for using his wife’s name in jokes about her alopecia condition.
As a result of the incident, the couple was forced to rethink how they interact with each other, and the actress says it has brought them back to “an unconditional love” that’s helped heal their marriage.
It’s been a long time, but the Red Table Talk host finally broke her silence on her marital struggles. “When you’ve been in a relationship for more than half of your life, a kind of emotional blindness sets in, and it’s so easy to lose sight of the nuances of your partner,” she writes in her new book. “We’re not going to be perfect, but we are devoted to healing our marriage and a more authentic form of communication that allows us to share our raw, human experiences.”
The former actress has been opening up more about her personal life lately as she gears up to release the bombshell memoir on Oct. 17. She recently spoke to the New York Times about her suicidal inclinations, depression, and use of hallucinogens. She has also been discussing her complicated relationship with her husband, sharing that he wasn’t ready for her to write about their separation in the memoir.
Despite their differences, the two remain close and are focused on their children, Jaden Smith, 24, and Willow Smith, 22. Their daughter, Willow, wishes her mom hadn’t gone public with the separation announcement. “She doesn’t think her mom should have told the world all their dirty laundry,” a source tells People.
Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that she almost broke her separation with Will Smith’s entanglement with August Alsina on the Red Table Talk series in 2020. She says they have been living separate lives for a few years, and she nearly shared their secret with the world on the podcast in an episode titled “Entanglement.” She said the episode was meant to clarify to her husband that she had a strong friendship with Alsina that started four and a half years before she talked about him on the show.
