Touted as Hollywood’s “it” couple for years, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith were married for more than 20 years, and share talented kids, a lot of money, and they even seem to adore one another.
Despite the rumor mill churning out all sorts of speculation surrounding their unconventional marriage, the couple always remained on a united front. In the wake of Pinkett Smith’s Facebook show, Red Table Talk garnering success, and her confession about her entanglement with R&B singer, August Alsina amid a breakup from her marriage, everyone is watching the acting couple.
Before the couple opened up about the issues in their relationship, Pinkett Smith‘s mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris spoke about her daughter losing herself as a result of Smith’s massive career. The MIB actor will go down as one of the biggest blockbusters draws of a generation, Pinkett Smith’s career wasn’t insignificant either.
She married Smith in 1997 at the time when they were both at the zenith of their career. In fact, the Menace II Society actor wasn’t sure about tying the wedding knot, but her pregnancy with her first child Jaden, societal pressure, and her mother encouraged her to move forward.
“I was so pissed,” Pinkett Smith admitted on Red Table Talk. “I went crying down the freakin’ aisle getting married,” she added.
While Pinkett Smith’s confirmation of a relationship with Alsina marks the first time they have acknowledged outside parties in their marriage, both Smith and Pinkett Smith didn’t shy away from admitting about having an unconventional marriage.
They no longer refer to each other as husband and wife, Pinkett Smith revealed on Red Table Talk. They now refer to each other as life partners.
While discussing Pinkett Smith’s entanglement with Alsina, the Smiths said they decided to break up before addressing some of their issues. Pinkett Smith’s mother spoke about these issues in 2018.
Jada “felt like she lost herself in supporting Will and his dreams and his career, and the idea that he had of what their relationship was gonna be,” Banfield-Jones said on Red Table Talk. “We do relinquish a lot of our power to our men that we’ve given our lives to,” Pinkett Smith added.
“And at first, I gave it all over. And then I realized, ‘Oh this is not working.’ And you get just a little disappointed because you feel like, ‘I gave it all to you and you took it and you misused it — you stopped listening to me.”
“Then as you start coming into the understanding of yourself and your own power, you go ‘Oh man, Jada, that was your choice, though,” she said. It looks like the Smiths have been able to work through their issues and are currently in a good place.
