She’s publicly pledged to stay loyally by his side no matter what – even after mutually ending their marriage. But in recent weeks, Jada Pinkett Smith’s apparently had a change of heart regarding the stalemate status of her and Will Smith’s relationship.
The pair secretly separated in 2016, only telling the world they were no longer together in 2023, but have since kept things on an even keel, with no official statements made about any plans to divorce. Still, actions often speak louder than words, and Will spoke volumes last month when he kissed singer India Martinez on stage while performing with her. According to insiders, there is no official line drawn regarding what the former couple can and cannot do in their private life; they no longer live together, and do not consider themselves in any kind of conventional, monogamous relationship. But the line of respect changes in the public eye and, as far as Jada is concerned, Will has crossed it. Having copped flak in the past for being disloyal to him, we’re told she’s now fuming that he hasn’t shown her the same respect and commitment that she’s shown him since they secretly split. Now, as far as she’s concerned, the rulebook’s changed – and she’s ready to play the game.
'Jada has been holding back and staying very respectful, but if Will is going to go cavorting around and acting single, then she figures that she may as well too,' says an insider close to the former couple, who got married in 1997, quietly split in 2016, but reportedly still lived together until 2021 – before keeping up the pretence that they were still together for another two years. 'She’s pretty furious that Will’s being so openly disrespectful and has promised she’s now going to do the same. Will is saying that he’s done nothing wrong and that he was just putting on a show, but for Jada, he’s crossed the line. She’s pretty tight-lipped about what exactly the rules of their marriage are, but – by all accounts – it’s a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ situation. They can do what they want, as long as they don’t go parading it around.'
With a commitment towards discretion, Will’s controversial PDA with India apparently came as a massive surprise to Jada, who shares son Jaden, 26, and daughter Willow, 24, with Will. The Men in Black star was appearing with the singer at the Premio Lo Nuestro award show in Miami, where they were performing their duet First Love, when he leaned in for a kiss. After canoodling mid-song, he then placed his hands on her backside – prompting some corners of the internet to brand the actor’s behaviour as 'inappropriate', since he is still technically married. We’re told a specific area of contention for Jada, 53, came down to the fact that Will, 56, hadn’t sought her approval for the stunt beforehand – something she believed to be an important tenet of their situationship. We’re told that, in the aftermath, she’s been left reappraising everything, and questioning whether Will really does take her best interests to heart.
'For Will to be violating the deal in such a public forum is a massive slap in the face for Jada,' says our source. 'It sends this message to the world that he’s footloose and fancy-free – who cares about the wife? They may have an unconventional marriage, but there are still things you just don’t do, at least not without the blessing of your spouse, and Jada did not give her blessing for Will’s antics on stage with India. To Will, he’s just performing and doing what it takes to be a success; but for Jada, this is exactly the same myopic attitude that they’ve always clashed over. All he can focus on is the goal of giving the audience the best show and getting the most headlines. Never mind that he’s now got everyone buzzing that he’s having an affair with India, which obviously makes Jada look like a fool and upsets her to no end.'
As our insider explains, Jada’s upset also boils down to the fact that she wore the mantle of 'the adulterous wife' for years, after she and Will revealed in 2020 - during an episode of her Facebook series Red Table Talk– that she’d had an 'entanglement' a few years prior with singer August Alsina. Of course, we now know the pair were no longer officially together at the time; but back then, it was presented to the world as if Jada had truly had an affair, something neither one of them did anything to negate. Indeed, Jada later confessed that she’d originally planned to announce their separation, but Will had stopped her as her 'wasn’t ready' to tell the world, instead joining her in painting the 'false narrative' that she’d betrayed him.
Since then, Jada’s done everything in her power to support Will, even saying in 2023, while promoting her memoir, that the time would come when they would live together again, explaining, 'It’s getting apparent to me that [Will’s] gonna need someone to take care of him.'
Part of the reason Jada’s stayed so publicly loyal to the man she still calls her husband is the fact that, until now, she was under the impression he was just as committed to her in the public eye. Three years ago, the actor infamously fell from grace at the 2022 Oscars, after he stormed the stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock, who’d just made a joke about Jada’s alopecia, before shouting, 'Keep my wife’s name out your f**king mouth!' Most people were scandalised by his stunt, but Jada later said she valued his public defence of her and made her re-commit her loyalties to him. 'That was a moment that I knew I would never leave Will’s side after all those years thinking I would,' she later said. 'I didn’t go in there as his wife, but I was leaving as his wife.'
Now, however, the goalposts have changed, and it seems Jada is no longer willing to sit idly by while Will seems to make moves to provoke their split for good.
'The writing is on the wall and it’s been that way for some time, but they’ve avoided pulling the trigger on a formal divorce because it suited them to stay together – both financially and emotionally, as bizarre as that may seem to the outside world,' we’re told. 'But they can’t put it off forever, and deep down both Will and Jada know that staying technically married but living a totally separate life is not a long-term option. So, it’s a case of ripping off that band-aid and making some hard decisions. The fact that Jada didn’t attend the Grammy’s with Will says so much about the state of their relationship. Clearly, she’s not willing to keep up the charade anymore.'