and husband Will Smith have lived 鈥渃ompletely separate lives鈥� since 2016, she revealed in an interview with Hoda Kotb. The prominent Hollywood couple married in 1997 and have addressed separations and marital troubles, but never this specifically.
Though it鈥檚 not a legal divorce, Pinkett Smith told Kotb in a clip released Wednesday on 鈥淭oday鈥� that it is essentially a divorce without papers. Smith and Pinkett Smith share two children, Willow and Jaden, as well as a son, Trey, from Smith鈥檚 first marriage.
Representatives for Smith and Pinkett-Smith did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The news came as a surprise to many, considering Pinkett Smith鈥檚 candor in her 鈥淩ed Table Talk鈥� series, in which she and Smith addressed her extramarital relationship in an episode in 2020, and . At the ceremony, Smith infamously walked up on stage and struck presenter Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith鈥檚 hair.
The full interview will air on an hour-long NBC News prime-time special on Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. ET. 鈥� out on Oct. 17, which promises more details about their lives and relationship, as well as her upbringing in Baltimore.
She told Kotb that, 鈥淏y 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.鈥�
Pinkett Smith added that though she's considered divorce, she hasn't been able to go through with it.
鈥淚 made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through... whatever," she said.
In a new interview with People Magazine, Pinkett Smith also said that she initially thought the slap was part of a skit.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥楾here鈥檚 no way that Will hit him,鈥欌�� Pinkett Smith said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn鈥檛 a skit.鈥�
Smith , which got him a 10-year ban on attending the Oscars or any other academy event.
The Associated Press
