Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's marriage appears to have hit a rocky peak, as the actress has been dishing the details of their unconventional married life while promoting her new memoir Worthy.
The couple notoriously have a 'bad marriage for life' approach to their relationship, which came into the spotlight after Will slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022 following a comment about Jada's hair. But this wasn't the first time the couple, who met after she auditioned for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1994, have received attention for their relationship.
Will and Jada tied the knot in 1997 and are parents to two children, Jaden, 25, and Willow, 22, while Will also shares Trey, 30, with his ex-wife Sheree Zamino. Things haven't always been easy, leading Jada to at one point confess she "never wanted" to get married.
© Getty ImagesJada recently revealed that she and Will have been separated quietly since 2016. Join HELLO! as we look at everything there is to know about the pair's relationship.
Where did Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith meet?
Will and Jada met on the set of Fresh Prince of Bel Air where Jada, then 19-years-old, auditioned to play his girlfriend. While the role went to Nia Long, the two became fast friends as Will was married to Sheree Zampino, mother of his son Trey.
It was only when Will divorced Sheree in 1995 that he reached out to Jada and they started dating that same year.
When was Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's wedding?
Will proposed to Jada while they were in bed in November 1997 and the pair tied the knot just one month later in Baltimore. They said 'I do' on New Year's Eve at a mansion called Cloisters and Jada looked stunning in a high-necked long sleeve bridal gown, while Will looked dapper in an all-white wedding suit.
It may seem unconventional, but the pair don't tend to mark their wedding anniversary. During a Red Table Talk, Jada admitted: "We don't really celebrate that day anymore in the sense because the context of our union is totally different."
MORE: Will Smith and ex-wife Sheree Zampino spark reaction as they reunite at the Oscars - 'Family first'
Are Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith still married?
Will and Jada are still married, but they have definitely taken an unconventional approach to it! Jada revealed in an interview with Hoda Kotb for the Today Show that the two have lived separately since 2016, but that they were still married with no plans for a legal divorce.
The Red Table Talk show host even suggested that the separation was essentially a "divorce" and were no longer romantically together, although that's not the end of the story.
"[We were] still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership, right, and in regards to how do we present that to people,” she said. “And we hadn’t figured that out.” So why haven't they got a divorce if they have separated?
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© Trae Patton/NBCJada stated that she made a promise that there will never be a reason for them to divorce. "We will work through whatever. And I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”
SEE: Jada Pinkett Smith's engagement ring from Will Smith cost more than a Ferrari
Speaking to NBC, Jada reassured that she and Will were working on "healing the relationship". "He can't be this perfect idealized husband. I have to be able to accept him for the human he is," she said. "He has to accept me for the human I am. And we want to love each other there."
© Imeh AkpanudosenThis comes as earlier this year Will told GQ magazine that he and Jada are in an open marriage, admitting they were "both miserable and clearly something had to change" prior to them agreeing to this arrangement. Instead, Jada has denied in her memoir that the union was ever an open marriage, instead calling the relationship a "relationship of transparency."
What has Will Smith said about their relationship?
Will has described his wife as his "life partner", and while they may be in an open relationship, he said they have always been honest with one another. "[We] refer to ourselves as life partners, where you get into that space where you realize you are literally with somebody for the rest of your life.
"There's no deal breakers. There's nothing she could do - ever. Nothing that would break our relationship. She has my support till death and it feels so good to get to that space," Will said in an episode of TIDAL’s Rap Radar podcast.
© Getty ImagesOne of the biggest bombshells about their relationship came in 2021 when Jada admitted she had been in an "entanglement" with August Alsina. Jada met August, then 22, at the Wireless Festival in London in 2015, and five years later the singer told The Breakfast Club’s Angela Yee he "gave years of his life" to a romantic relationship with Jada with Will's blessing.
Jada reps initially responded that these claims were "absolutely not true," but she took part in a Red Table Talk to explain she had a relationship with August when she was separated from Will – so he never gave his blessing.
"We decided that we were going to separate for a period of time and you go figure out how to make yourself happy and I’ll figure out how to make myself happy," Jada said at the time. "From there, as time went on, I got into a different kind of entanglement with August...Yes, it was a relationship absolutely."
MORE: Will Smith's daughter Willow shares cryptic message about broken heart - worried fans send support
© Getty Images"There's never been infidelity in our marriage," Will later explained to Gayle King on CBS Sunday Morning. "Jada and I talk about everything, and we have never surprised one another with anything ever."
Most recently, the Hancock actor described himself as a "fierce defender of his family" while accepting his Oscar for King Richard. The comment came after he slapped Chris Rock in front of a star-studded audience following a joke about his wife, who suffers from alopecia.
What has Jada Pinkett Smith said about her marriage?
The couple have both admitted that Will was more invested in the idea of marriage than Jada initially. The 51-year-old actress told People in 2019: "I never wanted to get married. But my mother was like: 'You have to get married' - she’s so old-school - and Will wanted a family. So I said: 'Alright, maybe it's something I should do.'"
© Getty ImagesFollowing Jada's Red Table Talk with Gwyneth Paltrow in October 2021, she also opened up about her sex life with Will. "It’s hard...The thing Will and I talk about a lot is the journey. We started in this [relationship] at a very young age, 22 years old ... I think you expect your partner to know - especially when it comes to sex. It’s like: 'Well, if you love me, you should know. If you love me, you should read my mind.' That’s a huge pitfall," she said.
The Matrix star continued by discussing the importance of communicating your desires with your partner, something she does with her husband. She said: "You tell me what you need. Tell me what you want, and on top of it, I know that I have to be accountable to do the same...I really try. It's uncomfortable, but it's deeply healthy, and I think around sex because it's something that we don't talk about and there's so much fantasy around it."
When did they have children?
The pair share two children, Jaden, 25, and Willow, 22. Jada was pregnant with their son when they wed on New Years Eve in 1997, and was welcomed in July 1998. His younger sister Willow was was born on Halloween in October 2000.
© Getty ImagesTalking about being a mother with her daughter on their Facebook Watch show, Red Table Talk, Jada said that being a mother was "wasn't easy, but it was worth it". "Being a mother is challenging because you sacrifice a lot. But I'll tell you what, sacrificing for you guys was sacred," the star told her daughter.
SEE: As Jaden Smith turns 25, the shocking story of the moment he 'shattered' dad Will Smith's heart
She continued: "You guys just see me, you and Trey and Jaden, all three of you see me, you really do, through the toughest times. I would say being a mother wasn't easy, but it was worth it." Will and Jada's blended family also includes Trey Smith, 30, Will's son from his prior marriage to Sheree Zampino.
Click here to find out everything you need to know about Will and Jada's children.
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