Will Smith opened up about his “tumultuous” relationship with Jada Pinkett Smith, who recently revealed they were separated for six years before the infamous 2022 Oscars slap.
The actor joined his wife onstage during her visit to Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Library promoting her new memoir Worthy. “I just really wanted to come out and just be here and hold it down for you the way you have held it down for me,” Smith told Pinkett Smith in an emotional speech, per the Baltimore Sun. “We have had a very, very long and tumultuous [relationship]. We call it ‘bruitful.” He added, “It was brutal and beautiful at the same time.”
“Our union is a sloppy public experiment. It is a sloppy public experiment in unconditional love,” The King Richard star continued. “As I stand here before you today, I am happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life,” sharing, “I have achieved every single thing I have ever wanted in my entire life. There is not one thing left that I desire in this world—all of the awards, all of the money, the family—everything I’ve ever dreamed.”
He went on to say his dreams were “largely built on the foundation of Jada’s sacrifices,” and credited her for supporting him throughout his career and as a family with children Willow, Jaden and Trey Smith, his son with ex-wife Sheree Zampino.
“Can you show up and love somebody for the rest of your life, even when you don’t agree with them?” Will posed to the audience. “Jada is the best friend I have ever had on this planet and I am going to show up for her and support her for the rest of my life.”
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Last week, Pinkett Smith sat down with Today‘s Hoda Kotb and discussed her “complicated marriage” to Smith and her healing journey in an NBC News primetime special that aired Friday. When recalling the beginnings of their courtship, she said, “I knew on the first date,” reflecting, “He was a different kind of guy than I was used to dating. Extremely intelligent, which I really liked because he kept me on my toes. He was such a dreamer.”
The actress also explained why she and Smith had previously decided to keep their separation private. “I think, just not being ready yet. Still trying to figure out, between the two of us, how to be in partnership. And in regards to, how do we present that to people,” she said. “And we hadn’t figured that out.”
