Jada Pinkett reveals she and Will Smith have been separated since 2016

Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed that she and husband Will Smith have been living “completely separate lives” since 2016.

In a clip from her forthcoming NBC News primetime special with Hoda Kotb, Pinkett Smith said the couple had not previously gone public with their separation because they were not “ready yet.”

Pinkett Smith is doing press to promote her upcoming memoir, Worthy (out Oct. 17), in which she describes the couple’s split for the first time, writing that they have been living “completely separate lives” for more than seven years. Jada told Kotb that it was not a divorce “on paper,” but it was definitely a divorce in their minds, even as the couple continued to present a united public front.

Pinkett Smith, 52, and Smith, 55, have been married since 1997. Pinkett Smith said they are not legally divorced.

Their marriage has come under scrutiny during the period she says they have been apart.

In July 2020, singer August Alsina revealed that he had been romantically involved with Pinkett Smith, something she confirmed during an episode with her husband on “Red Table Talk.”

“I got into an entanglement with August,” Pinkett Smith said at the time, explaining then that the superstar couple “were going through a very difficult time” when it occurred.