The Smiths are back with another surprising revelation, as Jada Pinkett Smith opens up to Hoda Kotb on ‘Today’ about her marriage to Will Smith, confessing they have been separated since 2016!
It’s just another day with another shocking detail being talked about about Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s marriage all over the web. This time around, in an exclusive upcoming prime-time special interview with TODAY’s Hoda Kotb, which will air on October 13, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Pinkett Smith, who has been married to the Academy Award-winning actor since 1997, talks about a huge confession that she made in her upcoming memoir, “Worthy,” which is scheduled to come out on October 17, 2023, revealing that she and Will Smith have been separated since 2016!
In the preview clip, Pinkett Smith explains to Kotb that she and Smith are no longer romantically together. To which Kotb clarifies, “It was not a divorce on paper.” Pinkett Smith responded, “Right.” As Kotb continues, “But it was a divorce,” this led to Pinkett Smith emphasizing “Divorce” to the interviewer and the viewers. She also talked about why they haven’t previously shared their relationship status, saying it came down to “just not being ready yet … Still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership … In regards to, how do we present that to people? We hadn’t figured that out.”
It is quite shocking to know that the couple who was once considered the power couple of Hollywood has been living separately for many years, which is nearly 20 years after they got married. She also mentioned that even though they are not living together, they also have no intention of legally getting divorced. The news comes as a bombshell to their longtime fans, who have been stunned by the information because no one expected to hear about this separation after the infamous 94th Academy Awards incident where a joke made by Chris Rock Pinkett-Smith’s hair resulted in Will Smith slapping Rock in retaliation.
To say the least, we are quite stunned to see these details coming to the public’s attention because this incident became major news around the world. Days later, Smith had to resign from the Academy and was banned from attending all their events for ten years, which is quite a big deal for the actor who was named Best Actor for King Richard that very night and later apologized to the Academy and the other nominees, but not to Rock, in his acceptance speech.
Eventually, following major public backlash, Smith had to issue a formal apology via a public Instagram post, quoting:
Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.
I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.
I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees, and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress.
In addition to this, Pinkett Smith recently came on board and shared her separation from her husband in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE magazine, quoting, “We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together,” Further adding, “We just got a deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us.” On the subject of how her kids have been helping her during the split, she added: “My children, they’re little gurus. They’ve taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance.”
“We’re still figuring it out,” Jada tells PEOPLE of their 25-year marriage in this week’s issue as she states that their relationship is still a work in progress. “A lot has happened. The thing about relationships is that it’s constantly moving. Relationships are, it’s an organism. It’s its own thing. It’s constantly shifting and constantly moving. There’s a lot that’s transpired in the last two years, and so we’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together.”
View this post on Instagram
As the actress also tells PEOPLE, neither she nor Will, 55, has ever had an affair — nor do they have an open relationship. “We eliminated the chance of betrayal,” says Jada, whose new memoir Worthy is out next Tuesday. Also stating, “It’s like, ‘Let’s talk about it. Let’s work through it together. Let’s be in partnership. Let’s not keep each other in the dark.’ “
“I think where that got confusing is that as time went on, there were different stages in my marriage where Will and I decided we were not together,” Jada continues. “We didn’t tell the public, where I was actually thinking about divorcing, separating. There’ve been several of those where we’ve gone and lived our separate lives. So I think within that is where people might’ve thought that ‘Oh, they must be having an open relationship.'”
Lastly, Jada exclusively spoke about the Academy Awards in 2022 after 18 months of silence.
She was among those who witnessed her husband, Will Smith, hit Chris Rock on the Oscar stage on live television after Rock made a joke about Jada’s bald head. She had been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease alopecia areata. “I thought, ‘This is a skit.’ ” Like many people watching the incident unfold on live TV, she didn’t believe it was real at first. “I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him,’ ” Jada recollects about the event. “It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit.” The first words she uttered to Will once they were alone after the show were, “Are you okay?”
View this post on Instagram