Jada Pinkett Smith is spilling shocking tea.
In an exclusive interview with Today‘s Hoda Kotb, the award-winning actress revealed she and husband, Will Smith, have been separated for six years, after more than 20 years of marriage. Airing on Oct. 13th, Jada Pinkett Smith opened up about what fans can expect in her upcoming memoir, Worthy, including her separation from the Academy Award-winning actor since 2016 – six years before Smith infamously slapped comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about her at the 2022 Oscars.
The clip showed Kotb digging deep into that revelation that she says “surprised her the most” out of the book’s secrets. The couple is still legally married, but no longer together romantically. “It was not a divorce on paper,” Kotb clarified. “Right,” Pinkett Smith responded.
In an exclusive clip from her upcoming @NBCNews primetime special with @HodaKotb, Jada Pinkett Smith reveals her current relationship status with Will Smith ahead of the release of Pinkett Smith’s memoir “Worthy.” pic.twitter.com/hMoAwi3ETz
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 11, 2023
After the sit-down portion of the interview, the journalist and actress were seen walking outside, when Kotb asked Pinkett-Smith what caused the “fraction.” The mom of two responded that the couple was exhausted trying to be who the other thought they should be. “Why it fractured…that — that’s a lot of things … By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying,” she said.
“I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.”
The Girls Trip actress admitted the two live separately, but told People magazine that they are still figuring things out, as she never could go through with a legal divorce. “We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together,” Pinkett Smith said.
“We just got deep love for each other, and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us.”
The book, available for purchase on Oct. 17, will show a different side of the Baltimore native, with revelations of how she battled depression, the “entanglement” with singer August Alsina, her relationship with late-rapper Tupac Shakur, and more.
Check out the exclusive interview, airing on Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. ET.
Related: JADA PINKETT SMITH OPENS UP ABOUT BATTLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS IN MEMOIR
