Why Did Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Split? The Real Reason Why She Doesn’t Want A Divorce

Why did Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith separate?

Why did Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith separate? The two separated in 2016 and they simply grew out of the relationship yet. As to why they haven’t filed for divorce, Pinkett Smith told Hoda Kotb in a preview of an hour long primetime interview that the two are “just not being ready yet … Still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership … In regards to, how do we present that to people? We hadn’t figured that out.”

Kotb asked about what exactly made the marriage fracture, “Why it fractured…that — that’s a lot of things,” Pinkett Smith revealed. “By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.”

She also talked about the promise she made to Smith. “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.”

She echoed the same sentiment in an exclusive interview with People. “We’re still figuring it out. We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together. We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us.”

As for what her three kids Jaden, 25, Willow, 22, and Trey, 30(who Smith had with ex-wife Sheree Zampino) think of Pinkett Smith amid all of this, she said, “My children, they’re little gurus. They’ve taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance.” She continued, “They love every part of me. The level of love, unconditional love that they have for me and their dad. And it’s one thing to want to be the person that gives that unconditional love. And then there’s, to be the recipient of that.”

What happened at the 2022 Oscars?

Will Smith and Chris Rock’s slap incident occurred live at the 94th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony on March 27, 2022, when the Saturday Night Live alum made a distasteful joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. “Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya,” Rock said in part, making a comparison between Jada’s shaved head and actress Demi Moore’s buzz cut in the 1997 movie, G.I. Jane. Pinkett Smith, for her part, has gone public with her years-long struggle with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that attacks hair follicles and can result in hair loss and balding. She was visibly upset at Rock’s comment, rolling her eyes from her seat as he defended the joke. Smith then stepped on stage to slap the comedian.

Smith publicly apologized to Rock on March 28, 2022, on his Instagram. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be,” he wrote. “There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.” Smith continued, “I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world.”

The Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences banned Smith from future events for the next ten years. In an open letter, the Academy announced, “The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards.” The Academy apologized to Rock, the rest of the Academy and the public for the moment: “We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.” Smith accepted the ban as he previously resigned from The Academy on April 1, 2022.

On June 1, 2022, Pinkett Smith opened up about her thoughts about the infamous Oscars slap. She expressed her thoughts about alopecia in the cold open of Red Table Talk, “Considering what I’ve been through with my own health and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories. I’m using this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about what it’s like to have this condition and to inform people about what alopecia actually is.” She then directly referred to her husband and Rock, urging them to reconcile. “Now, about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile. The state of the world today, we need them both. And we all actually need one other more than ever. Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s keep figuring this thing called life together.”

In an excerpt of her new memoir Worthy obtained by People, The Matrix Ressurections actress revealed how she reacted to the Slap in real-time. “It’s not until Will yells from his seat back up at Chris to “keep my wife’s name out your f—in’ mouth,” and then repeats it, that I perceive the gravity of the situation, and that, no, it had not been a skit. Even so, I am unclear on the reason why Will is so upset. We had been living separate lives and were there as family, not as husband and wife. But when I hear Will yell “wife” in the chaos of the moment, an internal shift of Oh s— . . . I am his wife! happens instantly.”

Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith was living what many would view as a fairy-tale of Hollywood success. But appearances can be deceiving, and as she felt more and more separated from her sense of self, emotional turmoil took hold. Sparing no detail, Worthy chronicles her life—from a rebellious youth running the Baltimore streets as an observer and participant in the drug trade, to the deep bond she shared with Tupac Shakur from the moment they met, to her move to Los Angeles and the successful career she built on her own terms, to becoming the wife of superstar Will Smith and mother to Jaden, Willow and bonus-mom to Trey . A rollercoaster from the depths of suicidal depression to the heights of self-acceptance and spiritual healing, Worthy is a woman’s journey to finding herself again.