In an exclusive interview with NBC News‘ Hoda Kotb, Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that she and her husband, Will Smith, have been separated for seven years. She also spoke about the controversy surrounding Will’s slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards and her “entanglement” with singer August Alsina.
The interview was conducted to promote Pinkett Smith’s new memoir, Worthy, in which she opens up about her struggles with alopecia, her relationship with Will, and her journey to self-discovery.
Separation from Will Smith
Pinkett Smith told NBC News that she and Will had been “going through a very difficult time” in 2015, which led to their separation. She said that they were “still trying to figure out between the two of us, how to be in partnership.”
When asked about what caused the separation between her and Will, she mentioned that many issues led to their decision. Appearing as candid as she could possibly be with Hoda, Pinkett Smith opens up about the fact that in spite of their separation, she would never divorce her husband, Will Smith.
Though given the accusations towards the Smiths being rumors that they lived separate lives and shared an open relationship, the confirmation comes a year after Will Smith’s outrageous act at the 2022 Oscars and three years after the episode premiere of Red Table Talk, in which the Smiths discussed Jada’s affair with singer August Alsina.
During the time of affair, which Pinkett Smith referred to as an “entanglement,” both her and Will confirmed that the two had already been “going through a very difficult time.”
2022 Academy Awards Controversy
In an exclusive interview with People, Pinkett Smith broke her silence surrounding the controversy between her husband and Comedian, Chris Rock, who was last year’s host of the Academy Awards. During the interview, the 52-year-old explained that she was just as shocked at the audience and viewers when Will Smith slapped Rock in the face after making a joke about Jada’s shaved head.
“I thought, this is a skit,” she said. “I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him,” she explained.
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She continued, “It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit.” In her new book, Worthy, Pinkett Smith dives into a hair loss condition that she suffers from called Alopecia. When Rock made a joke about her hair during the award show, Will Smith took it upon himself defend his wife, whom we know now has been separated from for seven years now.
Just when the controversy between Rock and The Smiths couldn’t get any worse, Jada also reveals that Chris allegedly asked her out on a date amid divorce rumors between the couple. Though the power couple is separated, Pinkett Smith says that she and Will are still figuring things out.
“I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through … whatever,” Pinkett Smith says. “I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”
You can catch the prime-time interview between Jada Pinkett Smith and Hoda Kotb tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.