Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have made headlines throughout the years as they have opened up about their marriage and the steps they have taken to continue building their empire and maintaining their family values. Let us take a deep dive into the history of their marriage.
Will Smith’s dating history and how he met Jada Pinkett.
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The movie star and rapper dated Garcelle Beauvais before he meeting his ex-wife, Sheree Zampino. Beauvais revealed the news to Zampino during a 2020 episode of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and the actress has worked on a few episodes of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Wild Wild West”. However, the former couple has remained on good terms and Beauvais wished him a happy birthday in an Instagram post. Smith met Zampino on the set of “In A Different World” and actually had planned to meet Jada. The pair married in 1992 and their son, Trey, was born in November of that year.
However, Smith stated in an episode of “Red Table Talk” that he had a public breakdown in a public bathroom when he realized he wanted to be with Jada. Zampino filed for divorce in 1995 and maintained a co-parenting relationship. Rewinding back to 1994, Will Smith met Jada Pinkett on the set of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” when she came in to audition to play the role of his character’s girlfriend. There were also rumors that Smith allegedly dated his fellow co-stars Tyra Banks and Nia Long, both played his love interests on the show.
Smith and Pinkett made their relationship public in September 1995 after his divorce and got married on December 31, 199,7 in Baltimore, Maryland. A year before his marriage, Smith told PEOPLE he connected with Jada and felt “free” in her presence.
“You don’t know about all the walls you build up in your mind and heart until someone comes along and tears them down. Outside of my mother, Jada’s the first person with whom I can share what I think and what I feel so freely.”
The couple experiences parenthood, and rumors of an open marriage
A day after their engagement in November 1997, Will and Jada discovered they were expecting their first child. Jaden Smith was born in July 1998; two years later, Willow Smith was born on October 31, 2000.
Throughout the years, there were rumors that the couple had an open marriage, and the public thought the rumors were confirmed when Jada Pinkett Smith talked about her marriage to Will with Huffpost Live in 2013.
“I’ve always told Will, ‘You can do whatever you want as long as you can look at yourself in the mirror and be OK. Because at the end of the day, Will is his own man. I’m here as his partner, but he is his own man. He has to decide who he wants to be and that’s not for me to do for him. Or vice versa.”
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However, she clarified her statement in a Facebook post and said she and Will trust each other because they have a “GROWN” relationship.
Here is how I will change my statement…Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other to do so. This does NOT mean we have an open relationship…this means we have a GROWN one. [He is] my best friend. He’s been by my side through some of the most difficult parts of my life. And so that’s something you can never take away.”
In 2015, Will Smith also shut down divorce rumors on Facebook, saying he doesn’t usually respond to foolishness.
“Under normal circumstances, I don’t usually respond to foolishness. (Because it’s contagious) But, so many people have extended me their “deepest condolences” that I figured – “What the hell… I can be foolish, too! So, in the interest of redundant, repetitious, over & over-again-ness… Jada and I are…NOT GETTING A DIVORCE!!!!!!!!!!!!! : -) I promise you all – if I ever decide to divorce my Queen – I SWEAR I’ll tell you myself! #Dumb People Should Have to Wear Scarlet D’s.”
The couple celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2017 but stunned the public in 2020 when it was revealed on “The Red Table Talk” that Jada had an entanglement with August Alsina.
Entanglements and the infamous slap heard around the world
Jada said on the show that she had a romantic relationship with singer August Alsina when she and Will were separated in 2016. Will said around that time that he wasn’t sure if they were going to speak to each other again. He discussed his marital issues and feelings in his memoir, Will, and said Jada never believed in traditional marriage.
“Jada never believed in conventional marriage … She grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up. There were significant endless discussions about, what is relational perfection? What is the perfect way to interact as a couple? And for the large part of our relationship, monogamy was what we chose, not thinking of monogamy as the only relational perfection.”
In March 2022, the couple attended the Academy Awards, where Smith won his first Oscar for his role as Venus and Serena Williams’ father in King Richard. However, one of the most shocking moments of his career happened when he slapped host Chris Rock for joking about Jada’s shaved head. The joke was made when Rock presented the award for Best Documentary.
Smith later apologized for his actions on stage and said he was emotional because Rock joked about his wife’s medical condition. He also apologized to Chris Rock for the outburst.
Jada Pinkett reveals she and Will Smith have been separated since 2016
Earlier this week, Jada revealed that she and Will Smith have been separated for seven years but the couple are working through their issues since there will be no reason for them to get a divorce.
“We just got deep love for each other, and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us,” she explained to PEOPLE in her cover story.
