Will Smith said marriage for him and wife Jada Pinkett Smith “can’t be a prison” and admitted that they haven’t always practiced monogamy throughout their more than twenty years of marriage.
“Jada never believed in conventional marriage… Jada had family members that had an unconventional relationship,” the 53-year-old actor shared during his interview with GQ magazine in a piece published Monday. (RELATED: Jada Pinkett-Smith Opens Up About Her Past Relationship With Porn)
“So she grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up,” he added. “There were significant, endless discussions about ‘What is relational perfection? What is the perfect way to interact as a couple?’ And for the large part of our relationship, monogamy was what we chose, not thinking of monogamy as the only relational perfection.”
“Marriage for us can’t be a prison, and I don’t suggest our road for anybody.” https://t.co/lDSrYmb3vT
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) September 28, 2021
“We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way,” he added. “And marriage for us can’t be a prison. And I don’t suggest our road for anybody. I don’t suggest this road for anybody. But the experiences that the freedoms we’ve given one another… and the unconditional support, to me, is the highest definition of love.” (RELATED: Will Smith In The Trailer For Netflix’s Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Bright’)
Jada and Will made headlines last year when she admitted to having an affair with her son’s friend, singer August Alsina, who was 27 at the time. In the GQ piece, the “Bad Boys” star admitted he also had a sexual relationship outside of his marriage but didn’t share anything further. (RELATED: Jada Pinkett-Smith Opens Up About Her ‘TMI Moment’ Regarding Porn)
“It may seem hard to believe, but I would lose sleep over not giving you the answer that I know you could use,” Will explained. “I want to help you, I want you to succeed, I want you to have a headline.”
“But by the same token, I don’t want to deal with the backlash of that in the world,” he added. “To say I don’t want to talk about that three years ago would have been f****** excruciating for me.”
The “Men In Black” star and Jada have been married since 1997. The couple have two kids together.