Jada Pinkett Smith reveals she and Will Smith separated seven years ago

Jada Pinkett Smith once again surfaced in the spotlight of all media outlets with some heavy revelations in her new memoir, Worthy. Among the other details that may appear shocking to some, Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that she and Will Smith, one of the foremost actors in Hollywood, have not been together since 2016. Though their marriage status remains the same, they have technically lived separate lives.

In a clip from her forthcoming NBC News primetime special, Jada Pinkett Smith revealed to Hoda Kotb that she and Will Smith had not brought up this topic publicly before because they weren't ready to face the scrutiny of the press. Moreover, they still have more to figure out before making things public.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith have been married since 1997 and share two children, Jaden and Willow. Jada also has another son from a previous marriage.

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"We were just exhausted with trying": Jada Pinkett Smith on her split with Will Smith

In the eyes of Hollywood, both figures are well-known, and so is their relationship. A couple of years ago, Will Smith got on stage at the Oscars and slapped Chris Rock for making fun of Jada's looks, drawing universal attention to the matter.

Anyhow, Jada said in the interview with Hoda Kotb that aired on Wednesday's Today show that by 2016, the couple was tired of putting in the effort and decided to split. They have not yet done so publicly because they are not ready.

"“[We were] still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership, right, and in regards to how do we present that to people...And we hadn’t figured that out....I think 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 said.

She did not explicitly state a reason for the relationship's failure but hinted that a "lot of things" led to the breakdown. This could refer to the many years they stayed together. She added about a divorce:

"I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through whatever. And I just haven’t been able to break that promise....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."

She also addressed the Chris Rock and Will Smith saga, saying:

"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 another 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 out this thing called life together. Thank you for listening."

The news of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's separation is still fresh, and not much is known about the same. But now that the topic is out in the open, we could learn a lot more in the coming days. Stay tuned for more updates.