Jada Pinkett Smith ‘Embarrassed’ Will Smith with ‘Infidelity’ Remarks Amidst Unveiled Separation

 

Jada Pinkett Smith Discloses Seven-Year Separation from Husband Will Smith

Gotham actress Jada Pinkett Smith recently revealed that she and her husband, Men In Black star Will Smith, have been living separately since 2016. The couple, who parted ways prior to Smith’s altercation with Chris Rock at the Oscars, are currently in the process of reevaluating the future of their marriage.

In an interview with People magazine, Jada shared, “We’re still figuring it out.” She went on to say, “We’ve been engaging in some profound soul-searching together. Our bond runs deep, and we’re determined to define what that means for us.” The 52-year-old also addressed the incident at the Oscars, confessing, “I thought, ‘This is a skit’.” Like many viewers, she initially doubted the authenticity of the altercation. “I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him’,” Jada recounted. It wasn’t until Will returned to his seat that she realized it was indeed real.

Jada’s revelation comes half a decade after she openly admitted to infidelity on her chat show, Red Table Talk, with R&B artist August Alsina. This confession took place while she was already separated from her husband, a situation that would continue for two more years. She famously referred to it as an “entanglement”. Some fans expressed their concern, with one urging, “I hope you will stop humiliating him,” and another bluntly stating, “Didn’t you cheat? Get real!!” A third commenter offered a different perspective, saying, “Aren’t you glad you married him even when you were crying and didn’t want to? So cute.”

During a 2018 episode of Red Table Talk, Will made an appearance as a guest. On the show, Jada declared that marriage was never a strong desire of hers. Despite her reservations, the couple exchanged vows on New Year’s Eve in 1997 at the Gothic-style Cloisters Castle, near her hometown of Baltimore. Jada emphasized that she ultimately went through with it to please her mother, especially given her pregnancy at the time. Reflecting on that period, Jada recalled knowing immediately after conception that Jaden was on the way, remarking, “I knew the moment after the act that I was pregnant.”

Jada openly admitted that she spent the entire night in tears, realizing that her life was about to undergo a profound transformation with motherhood. She reiterated, “I really didn’t wanna get married.” Will responded with a chuckle, adding, “We only got married because Gammy was crying.”

Jada Pinkett-Smith recounted, “It was almost as if Gammy was like: ‘You have to get married, so let’s talk about the wedding.’ I was under so much pressure, you know, being a young actress, being young, and I was just like pregnant and I just, I was just like, I didn’t know what to do, but I just knew, I was like, I never wanted to be married.”

Jada’s mother, Adrienne, then remembered, “I remember feeling very strongly and wanting you guys to be married. I do remember that but I don’t remember your rejection of the idea of marriage. I remember the rejection of the idea of a wedding but not of a marriage.” Jada continued, “And now Gammy has gone to Will crying about not wanting a wedding, and now I’m being forced to have a wedding, when really I just wanted it to be the two of us on a mountain, because I was like: ‘This is serious business’.” Adrienne then expressed remorse, saying, “that I didn’t respect your wishes,” and acknowledged that she was “selfish” for insisting on the full ceremony since Jada was “my only child.”

During the conversation, both Jada and Will agreed that their marriage was “the right call,” but they, along with Adrienne, admitted that the wedding was “horrible.” Will and Jada made headlines again in July 2020 when they discussed her romantic involvement with August Alsina during a “break” from their marriage on Red Table Talk. Jada explained how August – who was 23 at the time – met them through their son Jaden and was “really sick” at the time with a genetic liver disease.

Jada said, “And it all started with him just needing some help, me wanting to help his health, his mental state. The outpouring for him from our family was initially about his health. We found all those different resources to help pull him through and from there you and I were going through a very difficult time.”

Will then confessed, “I was done with you,” before Jada explained they had decided to separate for a “period of time.” Will then encouraged Jada to speak further, prompting her to say, “And then what did you do, Jada?” She replied, “As time went on, I got into a different type of entanglement with August.” She then clarified what she meant, adding, “It was a relationship, absolutely.” Jada continued, “I was in a lot of pain, and I was very broken. In the process of that relationship I definitely realized that you can’t find happiness outside yourself.”

Jada subsequently denied claims August made that Will had given his blessing for an affair, stating that the relationship occurred when they were separated. She initially denied August’s claims of a relationship between them before confessing and admitting “there’s some healing that needs to happen.”