Will Smith Says He and Jada Pinkett 'Chose' Monogamy 'for the Large Part of Our Relationship'

Kevin Winter/Getty Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith

Will Smith is getting candid about his love life with Jada Pinkett Smith.

The actor, 53, shared new details about his 23-year marriage in a cover story for the November issue of GQ.

Jada, 50, famously opened up about her "entanglement" with singer August Alsina in July 2020, and later invited her husband onto her Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk to clear the air about the situation.

While their episode went on to shatter Facebook viewership records, Will said the public did not get the full story.

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"The public has a narrative that is impenetrable," he said. "Once the public decides something, it's difficult to impossible to dislodge the pictures and ideas and perceptions."

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As GQ's Wesley Lowery noted in the profile, "Because the impetus for the Red Table Talk was Alsina's disclosures, a viewer could have walked away thinking that Jada was the only one engaging in other sexual relationships."

Will "delicately explained" to GQ "that was not... in fact the case," writes Lowery.

During the conversation about his marriage, GQ noted "it was clear that [Will] had more to say," with Lowery adding, "I could feel him rubbing up against the guardrails that he and Jada had established about what they would discuss publicly."

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Still, Will declined to provide further details to the magazine, but did reveal new information about his marriage to Jada in his memoir, Will. Lowery read a manuscript of the book, which included details about an explosive fight Will and Jada had after her 40th birthday celebration.

"Our marriage wasn't working," Will wrote, according to GQ. "We could no longer pretend. We were both miserable and clearly something had to change."

Will, who will be celebrating 24 years of marriage with Jada in December, told GQ, "Jada never believed in conventional marriage."

"Jada had family members that had an unconventional relationship. So she grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up," he explained. "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."

He continued, "We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way. 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 that we've given one another and the unconditional support, to me, is the highest definition of love."

Will's new film, King Richard, is in theaters and on HBO Max on November 19.