Long before the Oscars made headlines, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith were already living through a quieter, more complicated chapter.

In 2022, the world watched Will step onto the Academy Awards stage and strike Chris Rock after a joke about Jada’s shaved head. Jada had previously spoken about alopecia. The moment stunned the room. Then Will won Best Actor the same night, and the fallout followed fast.

However, the tension did not start on that stage. Earlier, Jada addressed her personal life on Red Table Talk. She described a relationship with singer August Alsina during a period when she and Will had separated. She said she felt depleted and wanted to feel good again. She also pushed back on the idea that anyone “gave permission,” and she framed the situation as her choice during an amicable split.

Later, Jada offered another difficult detail. She said she and Will had lived “different lives” since 2016. Still, she emphasized commitment over a clean break. She described a promise to keep working through it, even when the path looked nothing like a traditional marriage.

In the end, their story lands with a familiar truth for many adults. Long relationships stretch. People change. And sometimes a couple keeps choosing the work, even when the world demands an easy label.