Jada Pinkett Smith says separated from Will Smith since 2016, before infamous Oscars slap

The Hollywood power couple’s marriage came under intense spotlight last year when Smith struck comedian Chris Rock on stage for making a joke about his wife

Pinkett Smith also revealed she initially thought the slap was a ‘skit’, and that Rock had once asked her out when he thought she and Smith had separated

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Will Smith kisses Jada Pinkett Smith as they arrive for the premiere of “Gemini Man” at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in October 2019. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:38am, 12 Oct 2023Updated: 4:21am, 12 Oct 2023

US actress Jada Pinkett Smith has been separated from husband Will Smith since 2016 – six years before the infamous “Oscars slap” – she revealed in an interview that aired on Wednesday.

The Hollywood power couple’s marriage came under intense spotlight at last year’s Academy Awards, when Smith struck comedian Chris Rock on stage for making a joke about his wife.

But the pair had already been living “totally separate lives” for years before the notorious incident, Pinkett Smith told NBC News.

“By the time we got to 2016 we were just exhausted with trying,” she said, in an advance clip from an interview to promote her new memoir, Worthy.

Actor Will Smith slaps comedian Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood in March 2022. Photo: AFP

Rumours of affairs and an open marriage were repeatedly denied by the couple for many years.

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