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Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith smiling at a red carpet events© Trae Patton/NBC

Jada Pinkett-Smith backtracks on Will Smith separation leaving Today's Hoda Kotb seriously confused – watch

The star previously revealed that she and Will had been living separate lives for years

Hannah Hargrave
US Deputy Editor
October 16, 2023
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Jada Pinkett-Smith's marriage to Will Smith has been further thrust into the limelight after she appeared to go back on her previous comments during a new segment on Today

The actress formerly told Hoda Kotb that she and her husband of 26 years were separated and are leading separate lives. But on Monday, the NBC host was left confused as Jada tried to clarify what she meant by her comments and insisted they were "working really hard" to make their relationship work.

Jada had previously spoken to Hoda for a special to promote the release of her new book, Worthy, and during their conversation she revealed in her memoir that back in 2016, she and Will "decided that [they] were going to live completely separate lives." 

Jada Pinkett Smith smiles off camera© NBC
Jada told Hoda previously that they had been separated since 2016

"It was not a divorce on paper," Hoda said, to which Jada confirmed: "Yes," however when the veteran journalist reiterated: "But it was a divorce," Jada then declared: "Divorce," and confirmed that the two have been "apart" since 2016.

Now it seems, the longtime couple are far from broken up, and they are in fact considering moving back in with one another. "Ok, so there might not be a divorce in theory anymore?," Hoda asked, to which Jada said: "No, we really have been working hard."

A confused Hoda then remarked: "Oh, ok. Well I didn't know that," as Jada suggested the host had "missed" the point of the conversation. To make things crystal clear, the TV anchor added: "So, hang on. So that I'm 100 percent clear. You were divorced, but not on paper. But now we might be at a point where we are back together?" Watch more of the conversation for yourself below...

WATCH: Jada Pinkett Smith backtracks on Will Smith separation

With a smile, Jada quipped: "We are working very hard at bringing our relationship back together." At the end of the conversation, Hoda dares to ask: "So you might live in the same house?" and her guest responded: "Yeah."

READ: Will Smith breaks silence on Jada separation as he spends time away from home

In her original interview, Jada opened up about why she and Will had decided to live separately and said: "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.

will smith jada pinkett smith red carpet© Shutterstock
She stated that the couple had been working on their marriage and "life partnership"

Jada also confirmed that to this day, the two do live "separately," but she maintained: 

MORE: Everything we know about Jada Pinkett Smith's explosive new book: From Will Smith's Oscars slap to being 2Pac's 'soulmate'

"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." In a separate interview with People, she also shared: "We're still figuring it out," adding: "We've been doing some really heavy-duty work together."

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith smiling at each other while being photographed at a red carpet event© Getty Images
"We are working very hard at bringing our relationship back together."

She declared: "We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us."

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