Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's relationship has hit the headlines after they admitted they quietly split seven years ago.
The couple got married in December 1997 in what Will admitted in his book was a "compromise" for Jada after she fell pregnant with their eldest son Jaden. They got engaged one day after finding out they were expecting and the former Red Table Talk host said she felt pressured to have a conventional relationship where marriage comes before children.
As a result, they had a very short engagement and got married in December 1997 when she was just three months pregnant – but her velvet wedding dress showed no signs of a baby bump.
Jada wore a high-neck, long-sleeve winter gown with an embellished neckline and gold earrings, adding a pop of colour with her vampy lipstick while Will wore a white suit. They exchanged vows on New Year's Eve at Cloisters Castle in Baltimore.
Behind her smile, Jada admitted she remained hesitant about entering into a marriage and said she was in tears on her big day. She divulged to People: "I never wanted to get married. But my mother was like, 'You have to get married' ... I was under so much pressure ... I went crying down the freaking aisle getting married."
The couple elaborated further during an appearance on Red Table Talk. "We only got married because Gammy was crying," said Will, and Jada added: "It was almost as if Gammy was like: 'You have to get married, so let's talk about the wedding.'"
Jada said she would have preferred to have an intimate ceremony on a mountain, but Jada's mum wanted her only daughter to have a big wedding. "I remember feeling very strongly and wanting you guys to be married," Adrienne admitted, before apologising "that I didn't respect your wishes."
How did Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith meet?
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor met his future wife on set while she was auditioning for a role as his girlfriend. Despite Jada missing out on the role due to her height, Will – who was married to Sheree Zampino at the time – said, "I knew there was something in our energy that would be magic."
Once he and Sheree split, he got back in contact with Jada. "I [called Jada and] said, 'Hey Jada, what's up? It's Will.' She said, 'Hey, how are you doing?' I said, 'OK, are you seeing anybody?' And she said, 'Um ... no.' I said, 'Cool, you're seeing me now,'" he said on Red Table Talk.
Why did Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith split?
Jada made the shocking confession that they had separated in 2016 in her memoir, according to an interview with Today Show host Hoda Kotb. She and Will "decided that [they] were going to live completely separate lives."
"It was not a divorce on paper," Hoda said, to which Jada confirmed: "Yes."
On why they waited seven years to reveal their separation, Jada explained: "I think just not being ready yet. 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, you know? And we hadn't figured that out."
She continued: "I think by the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.
"I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through whatever. And I just haven't been able to break that promise."
Will had also previously made the confession that their wedding was the "first of many compromises Jada would make over the years that painfully negated her own values."
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