willow smith jada pinkett smith emancipation premiere© Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Willow Smith appears to side with mom Jada Pinkett Smith in telling post amid Will Smith split

The 'Gotham' actress revealed she and Will Smith have been separated since 2016

US Lifestyle Editor
October 18, 2023

Jada Pinkett Smith has been dominating headlines ever since she revealed she and Will Smith have been living "completely separate lives" since 2016. 

The 52-year-old actress has been busy promoting her memoir, 'Worthy', over the last week and has shared some bombshell revelations in the process, with her most shocking being that she and Will have been secretly separated for seven years

WATCH: Inside Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith's marriage

In the wake of Jada spilling her family's secrets, her daughter, Willow Smith, has been sharing cryptic messages on Instagram, and her recent post is her most telling one yet. 

Sharing a clip from British author and life coach, Jay Shetty, on her Instagram Story, Willow appears to be behind her mom's decision to finally "speak her truth" regardless of any consequences.

"Just keep speaking your truth. Some people will like it, some people will hate it," Shetty said. "Some people will understand you; some people will judge you. Just keep speaking your truth because that's all you have anyway." 

© Getty

Willow Smith appears to support her mom 'speaking her truth'

In a recent interview with InStyle, Jada revealed how her family reacted to news of her memoir. "What I did was tell them what's in the book, what stories I was going to tell about them specifically, and [ask] if they were okay with that," she explained. 

Sharing Willow's reaction, Jada added: "She couldn't wait, she's like, 'Mom, I'm taking this copy. I got to finish my read.' She was super excited about it." 

Her sons however, Jaden, 25, and stepson Trey, 30 – from Will's relationship with Sheree Zampino – have yet to read the book. "I just told them what was in it. They'll read it eventually," Jada claimed. 

© Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith secretly separated in 2016

Last week, Jada told Today's Hoda Kotb that she and Will are still trying to "figure out" what the future of their marriage looks like as, despite their split, they have no plans to divorce.

"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," she explained. 

Revealing why she waited seven years to announce the change in their relationship, Jada said: "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 regard to how do we present that to people, you know? And we hadn't figured that out." 

© Charbonneau/BEI/Shutterstock

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith married in 1997

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." 

However, in a second interview with Hoda broadcast on Monday, the 'Gotham' star appeared to backtrack on their split, saying she and Will are "working hard" to rebuild their relationship. 

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Jada Pinkett Smith appeared on 'Today' again to clarify her split comments

"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?" a confused Hoda asked. 

With a smile, Jada quipped: "We are working very hard at bringing our relationship back together." When Hoda later enquired if she and Will "might live in the same house?" Jada responded: "Yeah."

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