Jada Pinkett-Smith has disclosed that she and Will Smith were in a period of separation during the Oscars slap incident, and this separation had been ongoing for a while.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith entered into matrimony back in 1997.

Their marital union garnered significant public attention and scrutiny in the wake of a highly publicized incident at the 2022 Oscars. At the event, Will Smith confronted and slapped Chris Rock, who had made a jest about Jada Pinkett Smith's alopecia while presenting at the awards show. The incident unfolded on the live broadcast, witnessed by a global audience.

As the release of her forthcoming tell-all memoir approaches, Jada Pinkett Smith has chosen this moment to disclose a crucial detail—she and Will Smith have technically remained married, but they've been living separately for seven years. Importantly, they were already separated at the time of that infamous Oscars ceremony.

In preparation for the book's launch, Pinkett Smith participated in an exclusive interview with renowned US television journalist Hoda Kotb, and she was featured in a cover story for People Magazine. The Kotb interview is set to air as a special television broadcast on Friday night in the United States. In a preview of the interview, segments featuring Pinkett Smith's revelations about her marriage to Will Smith were showcased on the American morning show "Today."

Here's what Jada Pinkett Smith shared in the interview.

Living Independent Lives

Jada Pinkett Smith confides in Kotb that they have been living apart since 2016.

Kotb characterizes it as a "pretense of a life" they were maintaining.

"As time passed, there were various phases in my marriage when Will and I opted to live separately without disclosing it to the public," she shares with the magazine.

"I contemplated divorce and separation, and we've experienced several of these phases where we led separate lives."

Why Not Pursue Divorce?

Pinkett Smith confides in Kotb that she did contemplate a legal divorce but ultimately couldn't bring herself to follow through.

"I made a vow that there would be no grounds for us to divorce; we'll navigate through any challenges," she reveals.

"And I just haven't been able to let go of that promise."

Additionally, the couple has no intentions of pursuing a formal divorce.

"We have been engaged in some profound self-exploration together," she conveys to People.

"We share a profound love for one another and are committed to finding our unique path forward."

Attending the Oscars as a Family

Reflecting on the Oscars incident, when Smith referred to Pinkett Smith as "my wife," it's worth noting that in an excerpt from her forthcoming book featured in People Magazine, Pinkett Smith recounts that they were present at the event as a family, rather than as a couple.

She shares that there was a pivotal moment after he uttered "my wife" when she came to the realization that, despite living apart from him, she was indeed still his wife.

Pinkett Smith Initially Believed the Oscars Slap Was a Skit

Pinkett Smith candidly shares with People that when the altercation between Smith and Rock occurred, she didn't initially believe it was genuine.

"It didn't look like Will hit Chris, because, number one, I'd seen Will in the boxing ring with pro fighters — Will's a heavy hitter," she says.

"So when Chris moved, it looked like he ducked or he missed the shot."

However, it soon became evident to her that it was no act.

"It wasn't until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realised it wasn't a skit," she says.

In a separate article on People's website, Pinkett Smith reveals that Rock tried to apologize to her.

"He said, 'I didn't mean you any harm,'" she says.

Nevertheless, she notes that the two haven't spoken since the incident.

Why Reveal This About Their Marriage Now?

Speaking with Kotb, Pinkett Smith reflects on their decision to keep their living arrangement under wraps for an extended period, citing the complexity of their partnership.

"[We were] still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership," she says.

"We hadn't figured that out."

She also tells People magazine that they wanted to maintain their privacy regarding their dynamic.

"We didn't think that that was anybody else's business," she says.

Is There More to the Story?

Certainly, there will be.

These revelations precede the upcoming special and the release of Pinkett Smith's book next week.

"We're going to get into what happened in that moment in the Dateline special… There's a whole backstory there too," speculates Kotb.

What Has Will Smith Said?

As of now, there haven't been any statements from Will Smith on his social media accounts.

However, he is set to launch a new podcast, "Class of '88," later this month, which hasn't been promoted as addressing this issue. It's being presented as a series of interviews with his "old friends," including Queen Latifah and Salt-N-Pepa.

Smith was banned from the Academy Awards for the next 10 years, and he offered an apology to Rock and Oscars viewers in March before issuing a video apology in July, expressing his openness to discussing the matter with Rock when the time is right.

Regarding Chris Rock, he has not issued any recent statements on his social media accounts. His social media presence isn't particularly active.

In relation to the Oscars incident, he disclosed that he was still processing what happened three days after the ceremony during a performance in Boston. Reportedly, Rock did not wish to see Smith arrested and did not pursue any legal actions against him.

He declined numerous interview requests about the incident and briefly mentioned it during the Sydney leg of his stand-up tour last year. Instead, he chose to address it in a stand-up show titled "Selective Outrage" earlier this year, reserving most of his comments for the final minutes of the show.

At the end of the performance, Rock said, "A lot of people go, 'Chris, how come you didn't do anything back that night?'"

He explained, "Because I got parents. Because I was raised. I got parents."

He continued, "And you know what my parents taught me? Don't fight in front of white people," before dropping his microphone and concluding the show.