Jada Pinkett Smith has replied to criticism over whether it was right to reveal that she and husband Will Smith have been apart for seven years and living "separate lives."
The "Girls Trip" star spoke to Hoda Kotb on TODAY on Oct. 16 about the revelations that bothered some fans after Smith made them to Hoda in a wide-ranging interview that aired last week.
"I think at some point I had to talk about my journey," Smith said. "I think there's so many of us who hold so much, specifically women, and feeling like we're going to be criticized, we're going to be judged, you can't say anything."
Smith also writes about the difficult phases of their marriage in her memoir, “Worthy,” which hits stores on Oct. 17. She reflected on TODAY about how her statements about their marriage affected her current relationship with Will.
“The beautiful about it is like, this whole journey, as difficult as it’s been, just brought Will and I closer in such an authentic way,” she said. “Instead of trying to be a thing, it’s like just tearing all that down and finding what’s true between us. It’s been difficult, but beautiful.”
Smith also opened up about their separation, suggesting the two had begun to reconcile their marriage.
“We really needed time to get solidified because at the end of the day, Will and I love each other,” she said. “We had to really figure out what we wanted before we went into the world to say what was going on.
“We were just kind of in this very fragile place. And so now we’re just super solid. And so now I can actually talk about what the journey has been.”
Will Smith issued a statement to The New York Times about Jada’s memoir and her discussion of their relationship.
“When you’ve been with someone for more than half of your life, a sort of emotional blindness sets in, and you can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties,” he said.
Jada Pinkett Smith responded to that statement on TODAY.
“That’s so universal in relationships,” she said. “He didn’t see me, and I didn’t see him. And so we kind of had to go our separate ways to see each other.
“Because when you’re in a relationship and you’re kind of just pulling at that person to be something for you, you refuse to see them. And so we had to go our separate ways to really look at ourselves and see the blocks that we had in order to find a way back.”