NEWSJada Pinkett Smith Was 'Shocked' When Will Smith Called Her His 'Wife' During 2022 Oscars Ceremony
Oct. 13 2023, Published 10:54 a.m. ET
Jada Pinkett Smith was caught off-guard when Will Smith referred to her as his "wife" during the 2022 Oscars ceremony since the two were separated at the time.
After the Aladdin star slapped Chris Rock on stage, he shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out your f------- mouth!”
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are not together.
In a new interview with NBC, which is set to air on Friday, October 13, the Red Table Talk star, 52, said the whole thing left her flabbergasted.
“First of all, I’m really shocked, because mind you, I’m not there. We haven’t called each other husband and wife in a long time,” she told Today star Hoda Kotb. “I’m really worried for Will because I don’t know what’s going on.”
As OK! previously reported, Jada revealed this week that she and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum, 55, had been separated for six years at the 2022 lavish affair — something they never disclosed to the public.
“We’re still figuring it out,” Jada, who shares says of Jaden, 25, Willow, 22, and "bonus son" Trey, 30, with Will, admitted to People about where they stand today.
The two got married in 1997.
“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 added. “My children, they’re little gurus. They’ve taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance.”
In 2020, the pair, who married in 1997, made headlines when it was revealed the Girls Trip star and August Alsina had a fling. At the time, Jada said she and Will were privately separated when the "entanglement" occurred.
- Split Shocker: Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith Were Separated 6 Years Before Infamous 2022 Oscars Slap
- Will Smith's Kids 'Feel Bad' for Him as Jada Pinkett Smith Shares Shocking Confessions About Their Broken Marriage
- Will Smith Applauds Estranged Wife Jada Pinkett-Smith for Memoir Release: 'I Love You Endlessly'
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Will Smith called Jada Pinktt Smith his 'wife' at the 2022 Oscars.
The singer apparently event got permission from Will to explore things with Jada.
“I actually sat down with Will and had a conversation due to the transformation from their marriage to life partnership … he gave me his blessing,” the singer said in an interview in 2020. “I totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life, and I truly and really, really deeply love and have a ton of love for her."
“I devoted myself to it, I gave my full self to it — so much so to the point that I can die right now and be OK with knowing that I truly gave myself to somebody,” he continued.
The two are not living together.
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Jada explained that one of the reasons she and Will were having problems was because they were "exhausted with trying" to sort things out.
“I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be," she told Kotb. “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.”
