This love could easily be made into a film: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have experienced a lot of ups and downs in 29 years.
They can’t be with each other, but somehow they can’t be without each other: That’s probably the best way to describe the relationship between actor Will Smith (55) and talk show host Jada Pinkett Smith (52). They have been one of Hollywood’s power couples for almost 30 years, always appearing as a strong unit on the red carpets and raving about each other highly. But rumors of crisis kept doing the rounds, there was talk of open marriages and affairs. But the fact that they have been separated since 2016, as Jada Pinkett Smith has now revealed, came as a surprise. As openly as the couple spoke about their marriage, they apparently didn’t want to let anyone see their hand in the event of a failure. A look at the unusual marriage that vacillates between spirited, understanding and quite complicated…
Exhilarating beginning
The couple first met on the set of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1994 when she auditioned for the role of his on-screen girlfriend Lisa Wilkes. Although she didn’t get it, they finally started dating after the actor’s separation from Sheree Zampino (55). Jada Pinkett Smith remembers him asking her, “Who are you dating?” When she replied that she was single, Will explained, “Well, you’re going out with me now.” She laughs about that today and says: “Can you believe I fell for this?”
He, in turn, once said that they realized on the first date that their relationship could be difficult: “When we had the opportunity to have a real conversation for the first time, we both knew very well that there could be heated tensions .” But he also quickly realized that he couldn’t share his thoughts and feelings with anyone as openly as with Jada. However, she was already battling depression and suicidal thoughts back then. “When I met Will, I completely gave up on my sanity. I was so intoxicated by him and our dynamic. I truly felt like I was healed.” She even stopped taking antidepressants: “It became a drug.”
Wedding and children
Then everything happened relatively quickly. In 1995, they walked the red carpet holding hands for the first time at the premiere of “Devil in Blue.” In November 1997, he made a no-frills proposal in bed that evening: “I looked over at her and said, ‘Hey, we could really be married.'” Shortly after the engagement, they found out that their first child was on the way. On New Year’s Eve 1997 They then exchanged vows in Baltimore. To prevent leaks to the media, no invitations were sent out. Instead, on the morning of the ceremony, guests received envelopes with instructions for their limousine drivers. Everything was top secret – after all, Smith was already a celebrated one at the time Star. After the wedding, the two became a popular glamor couple. The first few years of marriage, however, they devoted themselves primarily to their children. Son Jaden (25) was born in July 1998, and daughter Willow (22) on October 31, 2000. Will Smith also has son Trey (30) from his first marriage, whom Jada Pinkett Smith lovingly accepted as her “bonus son”.
ups and downs
Jada Pinkett Smith, in particular, was going through difficult times. She was constantly not feeling well mentally and was also looking for the right path professionally. Actress, musician and finally host of her own talk show “Red Table Talk” – she tried many things. The two stars also went through a lot in their relationship. In 2013, Pinkett Smith took care of it with an interview with “HuffPost Live” for vertebrae. Her statement that her husband could “do whatever he wants” was interpreted by many as a reference to an open marriage. She then clarified: “Will and I can both do whatever we want because we trust each other to do it. That doesn’t mean that we have an open relationship, but that we have an adult relationship.” He was her best friend and was always by her side during some of the most difficult times in her life.
But things kept going wrong for the power couple: in 2011, after their 40th birthday, they were said to have had a heated argument, as he revealed ten years later. In 2015, there were even divorce rumors, which he dismissed on Facebook: “Jada and I are… not getting divorced! I promise, y’all – if I ever decide to divorce my queen – I swear, I’ll tell you myself!” A year later, the Smiths apparently separated for good – as has only now become known. Until now they had only declared this to be a temporary separation. In 2020, Jada Pinkett Smith confessed that she was having an affair with musician August Alsina (31). Will Smith summed it up in his 2021 autobiography “Will”: “Our marriage wasn’t working. We couldn’t pretend anymore. We were both unhappy and something clearly had to change.” She never believed in a conventional marriage and there were “endless discussions” about “what relationship perfection is.” At the time, the actor also wrote: “And marriage must not be a prison for us. And I do not recommend our path to anyone. I cannot recommend this path to anyone.”
Despite the problems, he released it for his 20th wedding anniversary on December 31, 2017 an emotional homage to Jada, including a souvenir photo from her wedding day. “20 years ago today we held hands and naively walked down the aisle. Here’s what I’ve learned since then: Love is like gardening. I’ve learned to focus on helping you blossom into whoever you want to be (to what you were born to be) …Instead of demanding that you become what my fragile ego wants you to be.” He learned to find joy in nurturing their dreams and that love is listening. “Love is giving. Love is freedom. Happy anniversary, my queen! I am forever committed to promoting her deepest truth.”
Public scandal
By then they had long since separated. But in public they continued to appear as a married couple. This was also the case at the Oscar gala a year and a half ago. At that time, Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock (58) on stage after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head as a result of her circular hair loss. When Will Smith returned to his seat, he shouted twice, “Don’t put my wife’s name in your damn mouth!” On the occasion of her book “Worthy”, which will be published on October 17th, the 52-year-old revealed that they had already been separated for six years. “We had lived separate lives and were there as a family, not as husband and wife.”
She was frightened when he shouted “woman” and realized that they would have to go through this together now that she was seen in public as his wife. Maybe that’s why it took a relatively long time for her to comment on the slapping incident. It wasn’t until June 2022 that she said in her “Red Table Talk” that she hoped for a reconciliation between Will Smith and Chris Rock. “Until then, Will and I will keep doing what we’ve been doing for the last 28 years – and that’s keep working on this thing called ‘living together’.”
The couple was probably “simply exhausted from trying in 2016”: However, according to the mother of two, she “swore that there would never be a reason for us to get a divorce.” What happens next is still unclear: “We have done really hard work together,” she told “People”. “We have deep love for each other and we’re going to figure out what that looks like for us.”