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Jada Pinkett Smith says she and Will have been secretly separated for seven years
Featured Image Credit: NBC News/Lionel Hahn / Contributor

Jada Pinkett Smith says she and Will have been secretly separated for seven years

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith married in 1997

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed she and Will Smith have secretly been separated for seven years, despite appearing to the public as a couple.

Jada revealed the news in an interview ahead of the release of her new book, Worthy, which is set to be released next week.

It comes more than two decades after she and Will tied the knot in 1997, while Jada was pregnant with her and Will's oldest child, Jaden.

Speaking with People, Jada opened up about how she first met Will in Hollywood.

After the actor split from his first wife Sheree Zampino, he called Jada and asked: “Who are you going out with?”

When he learned she was single, Will apparently responded: “Well, you’re going out with me now.”

“Can you believe I fell for that?," Jada said in the interview.

"Will called me up one day and said, ’Hit me when you get to L.A.’ and then ... click. And I was like, ‘Whoa. Okay'. And so when I got to L.A., I called him. I haven't been able to get rid of him since.”

At the time they met, Jada recalled being treated for depression and taking medication to help her mental health.

When she met Will, however, she said she 'abandoned [her] mental health'.

"I was so intoxicated by him and our dynamic. I really felt like I'm cured," she said, adding: "He became the drug."

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith married in 1997.
Lionel Hahn/Getty Images

One marriage and two children later, all eyes turned to Will and Jada when the actor got up on stage at the 2022 Oscars and slapped Chris Rock for his joke about his wife.

At that time, Jada revealed, she and Will had been separated for six years.

Speaking about their relationship now, Jada said: “We’re still figuring it out,” she said. "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.”

Jada added that her children, Jaden and Willow, as well as Trey, who Will shares with Zampino, have been supportive.

“My children, they’re little gurus. They’ve taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance," she said.

“They love every part of me.The level of love, unconditional love that they have for me and their dad. And it's one thing to want to be the person that gives that unconditional love. And then there's, to be the recipient of that.”

UNILAD has contacted representatives for Will for comment.

Topics: Sex and Relationships, Will Smith

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.