Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith separated in 2016
Jada Pinkett Smith is getting candid about her marriage with husband Will Smith.
The “Girls Trip” actress, 52, revealed in a new interview with People that she and Smith, 55, are separated — and have been for years.
Pinkett Smith explained that she and Smith had been separated for six years prior to the 2022 Academy Awards — the night of the infamous Chris Rock slap.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith separated in 2016
“We’re still figuring it out,” she told the magazine of their marriage. “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.”
“We had been living separate lives and were there as family, not as husband and wife,” she wrote. “But when I hear Will yell ‘wife’ in the chaos of the moment, an internal shift of ‘Oh s— … I am his wife!’ happens instantly.”
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith separated in 2016
The incident came after Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith being bald. The actress suffers from alopecia, a condition which causes hair loss.
In a separate interview, Pinkett Smith told People she initially thought it was part of a planned joke.
“It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realised it wasn’t a skit.”
She said: “I’m going to be by his side but also allow him to have to figure this out for himself.”