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In an exclusive interview with You magazine, the actress and author opens up about her unconventional marriage, her affair with a younger man, and how a shocking incident at the Oscars brought them closer together.
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Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith are one of Hollywood's most famous couples, but their relationship has been anything but conventional. The pair, who have been married for nearly 30 years, have faced rumors of divorce, infidelity, and an open marriage. But in a candid and revealing conversation with You magazine, Pinkett Smith says she will never leave her husband, even though they have separate homes and lead independent lives.
She credits a dramatic moment at the 2022 Oscars, when Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock for making fun of her alopecia, as the turning point in their marriage. She says that the public display of anger and loyalty showed her how much he cared for her, despite their differences.
'I call it the "holy slap" now because so many positive things came after it,' she says. 'That moment of the s*** hitting the fan is when you see where you really are. After all those years trying to figure out if I would leave Will's side, it took that slap for me to see I will never leave him. Who knows where our relationship would be if that hadn't happened?'
Pinkett Smith, 52, admits that their marriage has been through many ups and downs, and that they have been separated for six years before reconciling. She also confesses to having an affair with a younger singer, August Alsina, whom she met through her son Jaden. She says she was trying to help him with his personal issues, but the friendship turned into a romantic 'entanglement'.
'This is how a friendship unfolded that, much later and very unexpectedly, turned romantic,' she writes in her new memoir, Worthy. In the book, she also reveals her dark thoughts and suicidal fantasies, and how she struggled with the backlash from the media and the public.
She says she was so angry and hurt by the criticism and the sympathy for her husband that she dreamed of being a werewolf, tearing him to shreds and eating him. 'I was thinking "this suicide has to look like an accident so the children aren't traumatised",' she says.
She also addresses the recent allegations that Smith had a gay affair with his co-star Duane Martin in the early 1990s, when they starred in The Prince of Bel-Air. She says she is not here to discuss her husband's journey, and that he has denied the claims as 'unequivocally false'.
She says that despite their challenges, they have found a way to make their marriage work for them, and that they respect each other's freedom and individuality. She says they have separate homes, but they still spend time together and support each other's careers and passions.
'We are not a traditional couple, and we don't pretend to be,' she says. 'We have our own rules and boundaries, and we respect each other's choices. We love each other deeply, but we also love ourselves. We are not dependent on each other, but we are committed to each other. We are not together, but we are not apart. We are partners, but we are also friends. We are Will and Jada, and we are happy.'
