Jada Pinkett and Will Smith have been separated since 2016

Last Updated on October 12, 2023

Will Smith may have wanted his wife’s name out of Chris Rock’s mouth but Jada Pinkett Smith hasn’t even been in Will’s house since last decade. As revealed in her new memoir, Worthy (out October 17th), and on Today, Jada Pinkett Smith said that she and Will Smith haven’t been living together for seven years.

Speaking with Today host Hoda Kotb, Jada Pinkett Smith said her and Will’s rocky relationship – which saw an affair on Jada’s part that lasted numerous years – has caused the couple issues for quite some time but they made attempts to mold it until they no longer could. “[We were] 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…And we hadn’t figured that out…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.” The couple married in 1997.

She added, “We’re still figuring it out…We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together. We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us.” While Jada Pinkett Smith and Big Willie Style aren’t officially divorced, the actress says their situation essentially amounts to one – without the word of the law and tabloid attention. It is interesting that public perception has played such a large role in why they decided to stay “together”, especially since Will Smith basically ruined his entire reputation with a reckless move.

As for the moment when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards, Jada Pinkett Smith was in as much disbelief as attendees and viewers at home. “I thought, ‘This is a skit.’…I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him.’” But a skit it wasn’t and Will Smith triggered one of the most humiliating moments in Academy Awards history, somehow far worse than Rob Lowe dancing with Snow White. For his part, Rock would end up pinning Smith’s pent-up anger on Jada herself, citing her aforementioned affair.

What do you make of the marriage of Jada Pinkett and Will Smith?