Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have long been one of Hollywood’s most iconic couples, but their relationship is far from the fairy tale it had originally seen. Over the years, their marriage has seen several controversies, lets take a look into the timeline of the celebrity relationship.
Will and Jada first met in 1994 when Jada auditioned for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to play Will’s on-screen girlfriend. She didn’t get the part, but the two hit it off instantly. The only problem? Will was married at the time to his first wife, Sheree Zampino. In true dramatic fashion, Will has said he realized Jada was “the one” while still married, leading to some serious emotional turmoil. After divorcing Sheree, Will and Jada officially started dating in 1995.
Will proposed to Jada in November 1997, and the couple married just a month later. Interestingly, Jada has since confessed that she wasn’t originally very interested in getting married. In a 2019 interview, she revealed, “I never wanted to get married… but Will wanted a family.” Despite her initial reluctance, they started their life together, and in 1998, they welcomed their first child, Jaden Smith, followed by their daughter Willow in 2000
As the years went by, rumours about Will and Jada’s unconventional marriage began circulating. In 2013, Jada addressed the whispers head-on. She explained that they trusted each other enough to give one another freedom, but this wasn’t exactly an endorsement of an open relationship. Jada took to Facebook to clarify: “Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other… This does NOT mean we have an open relationship… it means we have a GROWN one.” This only fuelled more speculation, but for them, it was all about building a partnership that worked for them, not adhering to traditional expectations.
Things really hit the fan in 2020 when singer August Alsina claimed that he had an affair with Jada while she was married to Will. Alsina stated that Will had given him his blessing, sparking widespread gossip that the Smiths indeed had an open marriage. Jada eventually came clean in an episode of her show Red Table Talk, where she famously referred to the relationship as an “entanglement.” This term quickly became a meme, with the internet going wild over how nonchalantly she discussed the affair. Will, visibly emotional during the conversation, stayed composed but also clarified that the couple had been going through a rough patch at the time of the affair.
In March 2022, during the Academy Awards, the world witnessed one of the most shocking moments in live TV history when Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage. Chris Rock had made a joke about Jada’s shaved head, a result of a medical condition, her alopecia. Will’s reaction, which some viewed as chivalrous and others as wildly inappropriate, sparked intense debate about the couple’s dynamic and Will’s emotional state. Later, Will apologized, but the slap is forever burned into the memory of pop culture, and the brains of many viewers worldwide.
In October 2023, just when you thought the Smiths couldn’t surprise us anymore, Jada dropped a bombshell in her memoir Worthy and during an interview. She revealed that she and Will had been separated for seven years—since 2016! During the infamous Oscars slap, they were no longer even living as husband and wife. This revelation left fans stunned, as many had assumed their relationship was on the mend after the “entanglement” drama. However, despite the separation, Jada emphasized that they were still committed to figuring out what their relationship looked like moving forward.
Jada and Will’s relationship defies the conventional ideas of marriage. They describe themselves as “life partners” who have transcended traditional roles, evolving into something more complex. Will has stated that nothing could ever break their bond. Even though their relationship has been described as “brutal and beautiful,” it’s one that has left the public confused many times.
Will and Jada’s relationship is one that will go down in Hollywood history.