Will Smith Breaks Down Difficult Period in His Marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith, Jealousy About Tupac and More in ‘Will’ Memoir

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Will Smith Breaks Down Difficult Period in His Marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith, Jealousy About Tupac and More in 'Will' Memoir

Diving into the past. In Will Smith's new memoir, Will, which he cowrote with Mark Manson, explored the actor's life and marriage like never before. The Bad Boys for Life star, 53, set the scene by recalling the connection that he felt as soon as he started dating Jada Pinkett Smith. "We fit together so naturally, and our energies combined exponentially in a way that felt like old friends more than new lovers," Will wrote in the book. "We had an unspoken language, and everything we focused on flourished." The rapper and the Red Table Talk cohost, 50, originally met when she auditioned to play his girlfriend on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Jada ended up not getting the role, but the pair started seeing one another not long after. At the time, Will noted that he was still technically married to Sheree Zampino, which affected his new romance. The exes tied the knot in 1992 and their divorce was finalized in 1995. They share son Trey, who arrived in 1992. "My divorce from Sheree wasn't yet final, so Jada and I decided it would be prudent if we kept our relationship under wraps. (We were both pretty famous, and we felt it just wouldn't have been a great look.)," he revealed. "The blessed yet unintended consequence was that we spent every single moment together, just us. The first three or four months were as wild a romantic whirlwind as our bodies could have possibly handled." As Will and Jada's relationship got more serious, the Ali star explained how the couple found themselves with different views about taking the next step. [sendtonews type="float" key="UZdLU8eTsi-2834331-14453"] "Jada didn't believe in a conventional marriage, and despised the traditional ceremony. She also had questions about the viability of monogamy as a framework for successful long-term relationships," Will continued. "Jada wanted to look into my eyes, devote her undying love before God, and then get on with the difficult business of building a live together." Will and Jada got married in December 1997, which, according to the Suicide Squad star, was not easy. "Jada held her ground as long as she could, but pretty soon, the 'wedding pressure' became too much. She was in her second trimester, she was tired and uncomfortable, and she didn't want to argue," Will explained about his now-wife, with whom he welcomed son Jaden in 1998 and daughter Willow in 2000. "She also couldn't bear the thought of breaking her mother's heart, and deep down inside — even though I wasn't saying it — she knew I wanted a wedding too." Through the years, the Oscar nominee and the Girls Trip actress didn't always see eye to eye which led to a fight that almost ended their marriage. Looking back at those obstacles, Will admitted that communication continues to strengthen their marriage. "But the heart and soul of our union was then, and is still today, intense, luminescent conversation. Even to the writing of this very sentence, if Jada and I begin a conversation, it is a minimum two-hour endeavor. And it is not uncommon that we talk for five or six hours at a stretch," he recalled in the memoir. "Our joy of pondering and pursuing the mysteries of the universe, through the mirror of each other's experience, is unbridled ecstasy. Even in the depths of disagreement, there is nothing in this world that either of us more cherishes or enjoys than the opportunity to grow and learn from each other through passionate communication." Keep scrolling for more revelations from Will: [podcast_block]

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Will Smith Breaks Down Difficult Period in His Marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith, Jealousy About Tupac and More in 'Will' Memoir

Diving into the past. In Will Smith's new memoir, Will, which he cowrote with Mark Manson, explored the actor's life and marriage like never before. The Bad Boys for Life star, 53, set the scene by recalling the connection that he felt as soon as he started dating Jada Pinkett Smith. "We fit together so naturally, and our energies combined exponentially in a way that felt like old friends more than new lovers," Will wrote in the book. "We had an unspoken language, and everything we focused on flourished." The rapper and the Red Table Talk cohost, 50, originally met when she auditioned to play his girlfriend on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Jada ended up not getting the role, but the pair started seeing one another not long after. At the time, Will noted that he was still technically married to Sheree Zampino, which affected his new romance. The exes tied the knot in 1992 and their divorce was finalized in 1995. They share son Trey, who arrived in 1992. "My divorce from Sheree wasn't yet final, so Jada and I decided it would be prudent if we kept our relationship under wraps. (We were both pretty famous, and we felt it just wouldn't have been a great look.)," he revealed. "The blessed yet unintended consequence was that we spent every single moment together, just us. The first three or four months were as wild a romantic whirlwind as our bodies could have possibly handled." As Will and Jada's relationship got more serious, the Ali star explained how the couple found themselves with different views about taking the next step. [sendtonews type="float" key="UZdLU8eTsi-2834331-14453"] "Jada didn't believe in a conventional marriage, and despised the traditional ceremony. She also had questions about the viability of monogamy as a framework for successful long-term relationships," Will continued. "Jada wanted to look into my eyes, devote her undying love before God, and then get on with the difficult business of building a live together." Will and Jada got married in December 1997, which, according to the Suicide Squad star, was not easy. "Jada held her ground as long as she could, but pretty soon, the 'wedding pressure' became too much. She was in her second trimester, she was tired and uncomfortable, and she didn't want to argue," Will explained about his now-wife, with whom he welcomed son Jaden in 1998 and daughter Willow in 2000. "She also couldn't bear the thought of breaking her mother's heart, and deep down inside — even though I wasn't saying it — she knew I wanted a wedding too." Through the years, the Oscar nominee and the Girls Trip actress didn't always see eye to eye which led to a fight that almost ended their marriage. Looking back at those obstacles, Will admitted that communication continues to strengthen their marriage. "But the heart and soul of our union was then, and is still today, intense, luminescent conversation. Even to the writing of this very sentence, if Jada and I begin a conversation, it is a minimum two-hour endeavor. And it is not uncommon that we talk for five or six hours at a stretch," he recalled in the memoir. "Our joy of pondering and pursuing the mysteries of the universe, through the mirror of each other's experience, is unbridled ecstasy. Even in the depths of disagreement, there is nothing in this world that either of us more cherishes or enjoys than the opportunity to grow and learn from each other through passionate communication." Keep scrolling for more revelations from Will: [podcast_block]

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Will's Prank During Jada's First Meeting With His Grandmother

The Grammy Award winner's courtship with Jada took a turn when his grandmother wanted to meet his girlfriend. Will decided to time their first meeting so Jada would walk in on his grandmother watching the sex scene in her movie Jason's Lyric, a prank that has become "a bone of contention" between the couple "for more than two decades."

"Gigi ultimately loved Jada; they had a beautiful relationship. Years of joy and family laughter — their bond was precious. It grew deeper and wider with every interaction," Will noted in the book. "And it is my ardent belief that my orchestration of that initial meeting laid the foundation for their profound connection."

The comedian added that Jada did not share the same opinion about the situation, writing, "To this very moment, however, Jada has never even cracked a smile — not even the tiniest chuckle — about the meeting, not even once."

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Will and Jada's Different Views on Marriage

As their relationship continued to grow, Will remembered the negative view that Jada had when it came to marriage.

"Jada had no illusion that love and family would be an easy endeavor; that was another reason she hated traditional wedding ceremonies. She thought that the fluffiness and the pageantry of a classing wedding ceremony was flawed symbolism and give a false sense of the true gravity of the undertaking," he revealed. "She would say, 'A real wedding ceremony should be a marathon — we should have to run an actual marathon together. And if we're both still there at the finish line, then we've earned the right to get married. You gotta know that the person is a survivor.'"

For the Pursuit of Happyness star, the singer's opinion was hard to come to terms with.

"While I understood her point, I would always think to myself, 'That's some unromantic s--t right there. Would we have them shiny tinfoil blankets awkwardly slung over our shoulders to prevent hypothermia and crap running down the back out our legs?'" Will detailed in the memoir. "I did not say this out loud."  

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Will's Jealously About Jada's Connection to Tupac

In his book, Will admitted that his mind "was tortured" by the bond that Jada shared with the late Tupac.

"Though they were never intimate, their love for each other is legendary — they define 'ride or die,'" the Pennsylvania native shared. "I hated that I wasn't what he was in the world, and I suffering a ragging jealousy: I wanted Jada to look at me like that."

The beginning of Will and Jada's relationship was plagued by the role Tupac had in her life. The performer died in 1996.   

"If she chose me over Tupac, there was no way I could be a coward. I have rarely felt more validated," he wrote. "The way Jada loved 'Pac rendered me incapable of being friends with him. I was too immature."

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The Birthday Celebration That Took a Turn

Will and Jada's marriage was put to the test after he planned an over-the-top celebration for his wife's 40th birthday that didn't go as expected. The birthday event in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was all leading up to a special documentary that Will prepared for Jada.

"Jada seemed to be enjoying herself, but she was quiet — I couldn't get a good read. But it didn't matter because I knew the documentary would be a hands-down grand small emotional home run," he shared before detailing the amount of work that went into the Scream 2 star "hearing the voice of her grandmother speaking directly to her" in the video.

"I had seen the video a hundred times at this point, so I was only watching Jada. The enter place is in tears — her family, my family, everybody. All except Jada," he wrote. "She sat motionless, refusing to make eye contact with me. The video ends — family and friends erupt in a standing ovation."

The duo ended up in a fight that night, with Jada calling the documentary the "most disgusting display of ego."

"At this point, we were both screaming at the top of our lungs, which was very uncharacteristic. ... This night was unlike any before, or since. The pressure cooker of our perfect picture was cracking," Will continued. "Our marriage wasn't working. We could not longer pretend. We were both miserable, and clearly something had to change."

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Getting to a Better Place

After their explosive fight, Will recalled them making the choice to stay and work on their relationship.

"We agreed that Jada's happiness had to be her responsibility and my happiness had to be my responsibility. We were going to seek our distinct, innermost personal joys, and then we were going to return and present ourselves to the relationship and to each other already happy — not coming to each other begging with empty cups, demanding the other person fulfill our needs," he explained. "We felt this vampiric relational model was unfair, unrealistic, destructive — even abusive. To place the responsibility for your happiness on anybody other than yourself is a recipe for misery."

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Will's Complicated Relationship With Martin Lawerence

The Cobra Kai executive producer also detailed how professional jealousy towards his good friend.

"I was, however, acutely aware of the burning jealousy in my heart. [Martin] is a comic genius. Martin was the people's champ — he was the star of this own Fox television show, Martin," Will explained. "In the Black community, he was loved and revered the way I had always yearned for."

Although the Men in Black star "hated" feeling like Lawrence, 56, was "naturally funnier" than him, the twosome ended up becoming fast friends.

"I'm not sure you can actually love somebody forever from six seconds of a first phone call. But for some reason, we couldn't stop laughing just from hearing each other say each other's names," Will revealed in his autobiography.