Were Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith Even Together When Infamous Oscars Slap Went Down? We Have Answers

The shocking revelation comes less than a week before her new memoir, Worthy, hits shelves nationwide.

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Jada Pinkett Smith attends the premiere of Apple Original Films’ “Emancipation” on November 30, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Jada Pinkett Smith attends the premiere of Apple Original Films’ “Emancipation” on November 30, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo: Amy Sussman/WireImage (Getty Images)

Trigger Warning: The following article discusses suicidal ideation.

Jada Pinkett Smith’s highly anticipated memoir Worthy may still have less than a week before it hits shelves across the world, but that isn’t stopping the Red Table Talk host from dropping some shocking revelations ahead of its debut.

One of those revelations? The fact that she and hubby Will Smith have been secretly separated since 2016. The Set It Off star shared as much during her exclusive interview with People when talking about the infamous Oscars slap. Revealing what she really thought of that moment, Pinkett-Smith explained that much like viewers at home—she initially thought it was a skit.

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“I thought, ‘This is a skit,’” she said. “I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him.’ It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit.”

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When the two finally had a moment alone together after the show, Pinkett-Smith’s only words for him were: “Are you OK?”

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Shockingly enough, that moment didn’t drive a wedge between them, as the Girls Trip star shares that the two of them—along with their three kids Jaden (25), Willow (22), and Trey (30)—are figuring out what life moving forward looks like for all of them.

“We’re still figuring it out,” Pinkett-Smith explained in regards to her marriage. “We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together. We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us.”

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In an equally shocking revelation, the Gotham actress also shared how her children have been instrumental in teaching her about “self-acceptance” and how Jaden in particular helped save her life. Discussing how she hit a supremely low moment in her life after turning 40 and fell into depression, she explained: “When I turned 40, I was in so much pain. I couldn’t figure a way out besides death. So I made a plan.”

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Jada is aware of how her life looked from the outside, especially about a decade ago. The glamour and the smiles, the mansion, gowns and movie premieres. The “they have it all” of it all. “But, while I was really living the dream, I hit a huge wall — a massive amount of depression. I think that I looked at having outside sources to supplement for the voids that I was feeling inside.”

She said the “voices” were incoming. “‘Just kill yourself. You’re not worth anything, you ain’t s—-.’ ” Jada began to plot her death. “I started looking for places, cliffs where I could have an accident, because I didn’t want my kids to think that their mother had committed suicide.”

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But thanks to a tidbit of a conversation between a friend of Jaden’s, she was introduced to the plant-based, psychedelic drug ayahuasca and a ceremony where a leader brews it into a tea and guides the subject through hallucinations. She later said how both her husband and children, “as adults” have taken the drug and it’s been beneficial.

“Ayahuasca helped me, it gave me a new intimate relationship with myself that I had never had before.” she said. “The suicidal thoughts completely went away.”

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She later added of Jaden: “I’ve learned how to tune into each one of them and understand their superpowers. And so when Jaden came to me that day and he’s like, ‘Mom, you got to to hear this. My friend’s dad, he had this experience. I need you to come in here and listen.’ I’m like, ‘I’m there. What is it?’ And it opened up a whole new world of healing that I’m so grateful for.”

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.