Jada Pinkett Smith Reveals Why She Doesn't Call Will Smith Her 'Husband'

Jada Pinkett Smith has opened up about the state of her relationship with Will Smith and their status as a couple. In a new interview, she noted that she doesn't see the actor as her "husband" but as her "life partner."

The actress, who has had tongues wagging for the past few days due to the bombshell revelations she has been making during her media tour for her new memoir Worthy, revealed in another interview that she and Will are working on fixing their relationship.

In an interview on Virgin Radio Dubai's "The Kris Fade Show," Jada Pinkett Smith was asked if Will Smith is still her "husband," and she had a lot to say about the question. The actress revealed she is wary about the word "husband" and would instead call Will her "life partner." 

Elaborating further, Jada said, "[The] reason why I'm careful with that word husband is because of all the expectations that I came into the marriage with as a young person, with what the idea of a husband was supposed to be. Very idealized, unrealistic expectations, right?"

She told host Fade, "These years of separation gave me an opportunity to really clean that up. You know, I came in with the expectation that Will was supposed to be my savior and make everything okay, and really, I had to do my own work."

According to Jada, she had "stuff" that she had to figure out on her own, and for that reason, she prefers to use the term "life partner," because to her, that "frees up Will" to "not have to be responsible for [her] in a certain manner."

She added, "I have my emotional independence, and wherever he's willing and can and has the capability to be with me in that world, is fine because I got me, and so anything he brings, it's like icing on the cake." 

"So it's made for a more harmonious partnership between us. But that time apart, you really get to realize who you wanna ride with. And I just realized I want to grow old with this guy," Jada concluded.

Jada left Hoda Kotb, the "Today" show host, stunned with a recent bombshell claim about her marriage to Will Smith.

During an appearance on the show, Jada noted that she and Will are working on fixing things and haven't separated.

"There's no finding another great love, and I think that's the point. It's like we are in a place now that we are in a deep, healing space. And we are really concentrating on healing the relationship between us," Jada told Kotb. 

The talk show host looked shocked, considering all that Jada had said about her marriage to Will these past few days.

She continued, "There's no divorce on paper. We really have been working hard. That's the whole thing. We are working very hard at bringing our relationship together. Back to a life partnership."

Still on the "Today" show, Jada stated that she went into marriage with Will with "specific ideas" that "blocked" her from seeing Will for who he is. 

To clarify things to Kotb, the actress noted, "Here's the thing about husband-wife marriage for me, for my healing process. I came into that with very specific ideas that were blocks to me seeing Will as who he is."

She added, "He can't be this perfect, ideal guy husband. I have to be able to accept him for the human that he is; he accepts me for the human that I am. And we want to love each other there."

Jada revealed that she and Will only split up in 2016 because they "really needed time to get solidified. Because, at the end of the day, we love each other. We kind of had to go our separate ways to see each other."

The "Girls Trip" star continued, saying, "When you've been with someone for more than half of your life, a sort of emotional blindness sets in, and you can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties."

Smith recently shared his thoughts about Jada's tell-all memoir, stating he applauds and honors her.

"If I had read this book 30 years ago, I definitely would have hugged you more. I'll start now. Welcome to the author's club. I love you endlessly. Now go get some Merlot and take a rest," the actor expressed in a letter to podcast host Jay Shetty, per E! News.

In an email to the New York Times, the "I Am Legend" actor stated that Jada's bombshell revelations while promoting her book "kind of woke" him up to see the "hidden nuances" she possessed.

"When you've been with someone for more than half of your life a sort of emotional blindness sets in, and you can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties," Will said. 

The father of three also noted that he has now realized that his wife is more "resilient, clever, and compassionate than he'd understood."