Jada Pinkett Smith is keeping things real ahead of the publication of her memoir, Worthy. In her latest interview with The Today Show, the actor dropped a bomb as she revealed that she and Will Smith have been separated since 2016.
While Jada says it wasn't "a divorce on paper," she did admit that "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," she told Today host Hoda Kotb before explaining that she and her Oscar-winning husband attempted to make their relationship work multiple times over the years.
When asked why they hadn't publicly addressed their separation before, Jada said she and Will "weren't ready" yet and that they were "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," the Set It Off actor shared.
She also revealed that she "made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce," saying that they were willing to "work through ... whatever."
"I just haven’t been able to break that promise," she added.
The pair got married on New Year's Eve in 1997 and share two children together, Willow and Jaden. Will also shares his son, Trey, with his ex Sheree Zampino.
In her upcoming memoir, Jada also gives details about the moment Will slapped Chris Rock in her defense at the 2022 Oscars. Per People, she writes, "We had been living separate lives and were there as family, not as husband and wife. But when I hear Will yell 'wife' in the chaos of the moment, an internal shift of Oh shit...I am his wife! happens instantly."
Worthy drops on October 17 and is available for pre-sale now.
Sam is an assistant news editor at Cosmo, covering all things pop culture, entertainment, and celebrity news. She previously covered those same topics along with health, lifestyle, and beauty at Seventeen. When she isn't catching a concert or live-tweeting awards shows, you can likely find her judging DJ sets at parties.
