Will Smith and Jada Pinkett have always been the iconic couple. They’ve lasted, together for some 25 years. They were known to be the “quiet” couple of Hollywood. And we were proud. (Beyonce’s internet, that is).
Until last summer, that vision was slightly tainted when Jada revealed on her Red Table talk that she had an “entanglement” with rapper August Alsina. Will and Jada got married in 1997 and Will says that the “freedom” Jada has given him is indeed the greatest form of “love” he’s known.
In a recent interview Smith explained why he and Jada don’t have the traditional monogamous relationship and how it has played out for them.
“Jada never believed in conventional marriage”, Will said. “Jada had family members that had an unconventional relationship. So she grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up. There were significant endless discussions about, what is relational perfection? What is the perfect way to interact as a couple? And for the large part of our relationship, monogamy was what we chose, not thinking of monogamy as the only relational perfection”.
Why Monogamy Doesn’t Work For The Smith’s
The Bad Boy star continued, “We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way. And marriage for us can’t be a prison. And I don’t suggest our road for anybody. I don’t suggest this road for anybody. But the experiences that the freedoms that we’ve given one another and the unconditional support to me, is the highest definition of love”.
Will claims the lightbulb went off for them in 2011 when they had a quarrell. Nonetheless, they both claimed to be “unhappy”. This is when they decided monogamy was not fit for their union.
Wesley Lowery, recently spoke with the Fresh Prince himself who interviewed Will for the story, wrote, “Because the impetus for the Red Table Talk was Alsina’s disclosures, a viewer could have walked away thinking that Jada was the only one engaging in other sexual relationships, when that was not, Smith delicately explained to me, in fact the case.”
The History Of The “Entanglement”
There’s some healing that needs to happen,” she tweeted July 2, “so I’m bringing myself to The Red Table.” The declaration got over 100,000 retweets, and the resulting episode racked up 2 million views on Facebook Watch by the end of its first hour online. It was a big deal in Black Hollywood, to say the least. But hey, whatever works for them. It ain’t our business. If they like it, I love it.
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