In a preview for her forthcoming NBC News special alongside Hoda Kotb, Jada Pinkett Smith dropped a bombshell, revealing that she and her Academy Award-winning husband, Will Smith, have been leading “completely separate lives” since 2016. She explained that the reason for keeping this private for so long was their endeavor to navigate their partnership and find a way to present it to the public—they simply weren’t prepared for it yet.
“How do we present that to people?” she muses in the clip, released earlier today, as part of Pinkett Smith’s promotional tour for her upcoming memoir, “Worthy.” “We hadn’t figured that out.”
Their story began when Pinkett Smith auditioned for Smith’s iconic show, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” in 1994. They didn’t start dating until after Smith’s divorce from his first wife, Sheree Fletcher Zampino. Their official union took place on New Year’s Eve in 1997 at Cloisters Castle in a private ceremony near Pinkett Smith’s hometown of Baltimore.
Their family expanded with the arrival of their first child, Jaden, in July 1998, followed by Willow in October 2000. Both siblings have since forged their own impressive careers in the entertainment industry—Jaden as an actor, rapper, and fashion designer, and Willow as a singer and actor.
This revelation comes in the wake of the infamous “Oscars slap” at the 2022 Academy Awards. Following a wisecrack from the host, Chris Rock, about Pinkett Smith’s shaved head—an empowering choice she made in 2021 after grappling with alopecia and hair loss—Smith took the stage and delivered a swift slap to Rock, casting a shadow over the evening’s events. Despite the incident, Smith ultimately secured the Best Actor award for his portrayal in the biopic “King Richard.”
“We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together,” Pinkett Smith shared regarding their separation in an interview with People. “We just have this deep love for each other, and we’re going to figure out what that looks like for us.” On the subject of how her children have supported her during this time, she added, “My children, they’re like little gurus. They’ve taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance.”