Some couples inHollywoodhave made a name for themselves as the quintessential famous pair, to the point where it has become hard to picture one without the other.

Will Smithand Jada Pinkett Smith were amongst those couples, marrying in 1997 and welcoming two children with successful careers of their own: Jaden and Willow Smith.

Just like many other famous couples, after tying the knot on New Year’s Eve, in Baltimore, Maryland, their relationship became the subject of cheating and divorce rumors, amongst other scandals.

While promoting her new memoir, Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that she and Will Smith have been separated since 2016

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

Image credits:jadapinkettsmith

Nevertheless, as it turns out, “keeping Jada’s name out of our mouth” will now become impossible as news of their relationship has gripped the internet in the past 24 hours.

Indeed, it was just revealed that the power couple have been in fact separated for the past seven years.

As a result of previous divorce rumors, Jada confessed Chris Rock had asked her out

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

Image credits:chrisrock

But the actors’ commitment to each other has consistently defied negative speculations, with Will confirming once and for all where his heart stood at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony, where he infamouslyslapped Chris Rockfor making fun of Jada’s buzzcut.

Will infamously slapped Chris at the 2022 Oscars, after the comedian made a joke about Jada’s hair

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

Image credits:Neilson Barnard / Getty Images

The Red Table Talk presenter made the surprising revelation in her new memoir, Worthy, which will be published later this week (October 17).

Jada echoed this announcement in a few interviews whilst promoting her book, and confessed that she and her husband had been leading separate lives since 2016.

“Chris, he thought that we were getting a divorce,” Jada said in a recent interview

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

The 52-year-old also admitted that she was separated from Will when he had whacked Chris at theOscarslast year.

Additionally, Jada confirmed that she and the 55-year-old father to her children have been pretending to be a committed married couple for quite some time, keeping up with the charade at public events, and denying any questions asking whether they had separated.

Jada and Will married in 1997; they share two children, Willow and Jaden, whilst Will also shares a first son with ex Sheree Zampino

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

Will and Jada’s relationship has been at the forefront of some negative headlines before when the Queen Cleopatra executive revealed that she had had an “entanglement” with a family friend, 31-year-old singer August Alsina.

All and all, divorce seems to be out of the question for the unconventional married couple, as Jada has reportedly been saying she’s been committed to “working through anything.”

Jada was diagnosed with alopecia, which is why she has been sporting a buzz cut

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

However, Chris, who at one point believed rumors Jade and Will were getting divorced, reportedly asked Jada out.

The actress toldPeople: “I think every summer all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting a divorce.

Will and Jada have pretended to be a “regular” married couple despite living separate lives

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

“And this particular summer, Chris, he thought that we were getting a divorce.

“So he called me and basically he was like, ‘I’d love to take you out.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’

“Keep my wife’s name out of your f-ing mouth”, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air infamously said at the Oscars last year

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

Image credits:willsmith

“He was like, ‘Well, aren’t you and Will getting a divorce?’

“I was like, ‘No. Chris, those are just rumors.’ He was appalled. And he profusely apologized and that was that.”

After the incident, Will issued an apology to Chris and was banned from participating in Academy Awards for the next 10 years

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

Naturally, this occurrence happened before the outrageous 2022 Oscar, where the comedian met Will’s hand after cracking a G.I. Jane joke about Jada’s bald head amidst her alopecia diagnosis.

Ms. Smith also reflected on the shocking events and said that when Will hit Chris, she initially didn’t even think it was real.

Meanwhile, Jada has said she and Will had no plans of divorcing any time soon

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

Jada explained: “I thought, ‘This is a skit.’ … I was like, ‘There’s no way thatWill hit him.’

“It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit.”

Jada admitted that she first thought Will’s slap was a skit

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

The producer went on to unveil that when she was alone with the Fresh Prince Of Bel Air actor, she had checked on him to see if he was okay.

Jada also confessed that she had been “unclear on the reason why Will is so upset,” as they had been secretly separated since 2016.

“Our marriage wasn’t working,” Smith wrote in his 2021 memoir “Will”

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

Image credits:natgeotv

She said: “We had been living separate lives and were there as family, not as husband and wife.

“But when I hear Will yell ‘wife’ in the chaos of the moment, an internal shift of ‘Oh sh*t…I am his wife!’ happens instantly.”

These startling revelations have prompted X (formerly known as Twitter)users to share their brutally honest takeon the whole messy situation, with some fans saying Will slapped Chris “for nothing”.

“So he smacked Chris over that joke and they weren’t even together,” a personwrote:

You can watch the interview in full below

Image credits:TODAY

AnotherXuser commented: “So the slap was for nothing.”

A separate individualchimed in: “‘Keep my wife’s name out your mouth’ um… something ain’t adding up.”

Many people weighed in on Will and Jada’s messy and public relationship

“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

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“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

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“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

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“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

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“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

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“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

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“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

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“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

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“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

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“Chris Rock Was Slapped For Nothing”: Fans React To Jada Pinkett And Will Smith’s Separation

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