Jada Pinkett Smith gets her every word dissected, especially when it comes to her husband Will Smith. The beloved couple have been working hard to dismantle the perception of them being perfect for the better part of the last few years. This has included admitting to their open marriage, discussions about doubts throughout their relationship, and most recently, the Oscar Chris Rock slap that pointed to deeper issues in Will and Jada’s marriage. Now that we are a few weeks removed from the madness, news outlets are still digging into past interviews where Jada have said things relating to her being uncertain about the relationship at times.
A 2018 interview with E! News has been recirculated featuring Jada and her mother Adrienne Banfield-Jones. In it, Jada talks about not giving her kids dating advice. Instead, she prefers to share her experiences in hopes that they will learn from them. For Jada, she feels she is not always the best source because she chose to date their father while he was still legally married to his first wife. According to Jada Pinkett Smith she didn’t have anyone around her to step in and stop her from making what could’ve turned out to be a bad decision. The actress stated, ‘if anybody was in their right mind, they would’ve told me not to date Will when I did.” She continued, “He was in the middle of a divorce!” The actress made sure to clarify that she was not a mistress and that Will and Sheree were already separated. However, many saw this as yet another admission from Jada about the ever-present doubts in her 20-year marriage to Will Smith.
Will recalls reaching out to Jada the day ex-wife Sheree asked for a divorce. Jada had just purchased a farm in Baltimore when Will rang her line. He told her he was getting divorced and wanted to date her. She instantly dropped everything and moved to Southern California to be with him, never spending a single night on her farm. The actress has since called that decision “dumb” but maintains it was “the right move.”
Years later, when they finally tied the knot, Jada said she was full of second thoughts and did not want to do it. The pair wed on New Year’s Eve 1997 in a lavish ceremony that Jada felt was more for Will and her mother than her. During an episode of Red Table Talk featuring her husband, Jada admits that she felt a lot of pressure from “Gammy” to marry Will because she was pregnant with Jaden. Jada reportedly cried profusely while walking down the aisle. Her mother admits that while she knew her daughter was unhappy, she thought it was because she did not want the ceremony, not because she did not want to get married.
In separate interviews, Jada discussed how she did not believe in monogamy either and had very radical views towards companionship. Due to Will Smith’s traditional values and him being America’s sweetheart, she went along with a lot of it. One of the final straws for Jada was her 40th Birthday party. Will Smith threw her a massive event that Jada called a “display of his ego.” She felt that party was not for her at all and more to appease him and his image. She discussed feeling “depleted” and cursing him out after the event. Willow has memories of this fight and expressed how she worried her parents would split.
Jada has discussed how she moved out of the family home shortly after this and spent some time living in New York alone. She felt the word “wife” was caging her in and thought at one point it would kill her. Jada Pinkett Smith attributes a lot of this to her putting things on hold for her husband’s career and assuming a traditional stay at home role that she did not want. This held her back from being able to tour with her band or take on certain roles. Jada realized for her to survive in their union, she needed the rules to shift and change.
Jada and Will Smith would eventually step out and pursue other relationships briefly. Jada had her “entanglement” with August Alsina, while Will Smith has never revealed if he took another lover publicly.
The actress has also discussed her and Will Smith’s intimate life in another Red Table Talk episode that went viral. In it, she talks about issues they had sexually early on in their marriage. Jada said that Will did not know how to satisfy her initially, although she did eventually open up and tell him what she needed in the bedroom. Will has talked about this time in his memoirs, stating that the two could not keep their hands off each other early on and he had concerns that he would not be able to keep her satisfied because she was always ready.
Jada feels that their candidness is helpful to other couples and feels that many people struggle through the same thing. However, given Will’s recent aggression at the mere mention of his wife during the Oscars, many are starting to feel that he is unraveling under the constant scrutiny and embarrassment brought on from Jada’s openness.
What are your thoughts?
