After revealing her shocking seven-year separation, Jada Pinkett Smith is now saying that she and husband Will Smith are on the path to reconciliation. In a new interview on Monday’s Today show, Jada confessed to Hoda Kotb that despite living separately for the past seven years, she and the Men In Black star are diligently working to restore their marriage to what she referred to as a “life partnership.”
The stunning admission follows Jada’s revelation in her recent lengthy sit-down with Kotb, where she shocked the world by disclosing that the couple had been leading “completely separate lives” since 2016, citing exhaustion from their continuous efforts to repair their romance. Notably, they were living apart when Will famously slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022 for a joke he made at Jada’s expense.
Speaking with Kotb again on Monday, Jada detailed her determination to heal the relationship.
“There’s no finding another great love, and I think that’s the point,” she said. “It’s like we are in a place now that we are in a deep, healing space. And we are really concentrating on healing the relationship between us.”
Hoda seemed taken aback by the revelation, to which Jada responded, “There’s no divorce on paper. We really have been working hard. That’s the whole thing. We are working very hard at bringing our relationship together. Back to a life partnership.”
“Here’s the thing about husband-wife marriage for me, for my healing process,” she said. “I came into that with very specific ideas that were blocks to me seeing Will as who he is. He can’t be this perfect, ideal guy husband. I have to be able to accept him for the human that he is, (and) he accepts me for the human that I am. And we want to love each other there.”
Last week, Jada explained the reasons behind their marriage’s deterioration, saying, “By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be. 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.”
Over the weekend, Will Smith provided an email statement to The New York Times, acknowledging that he had developed “emotional blindness” to Jada’s “hidden nuances.” He admitted that Jada’s new memoir, Worthy, had opened his eyes to her resilience, cleverness, and compassion, qualities he had previously failed to fully recognize.
The revelation of their separation last week came as a shock to many, as the couple had consistently denied rumors about their marriage and maintained an image of a committed married couple. Notably, Will’s altercation with comedian Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards was a moment that fueled considerable speculation about their relationship.
The couple, married in 1997, shares two children, Willow and Jaden, and Will’s son Trey from his first marriage.
RELATED CONTENT: