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Back in 2020, Jada Pinkett Smith revealed on her show Red Table Talk that she had engaged in an “entanglement” with singer August Alsina at one point during her marriage to Will Smith. Now, Smith is opening up about his own extramarital affairs, sharing that he too was not monogamous throughout their relationship.
Speaking to GQ for their September issue, Smith touched on the moment when his wife’s affair with Alsina was outed to the public, clearing the air that she was not the only one who had engaged in such activities. In preparation for the release of his upcoming memoir Will, the actor spoke on some of the sensitive topics discussed within his book, including the concept of monogamy within his relationship.
"Jada never believed in conventional marriage.… Jada had family members that had an unconventional relationship," he shared. "So she grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up. 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."
Within this vein, Smith admitted that he too has not been monogamous within his marriage, stating, "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."
In 2020, Alsina went public with claims of his relationship with Pinkett Smith, and her husband revealed to the magazine that they leaned into this information in order to preserve appearances and remain honest. "The pursuit of truth is the only way to be happy in this lifetime," Smith explained. "And we sort of came to the agreement that authenticity was the release from the shackles of fame and public scrutiny."
While Smith admitted that the couple were in a tough spot within their marriage back in 2011, things have vastly improved for the pair as the actor will chronicle in his upcoming memoir. Will is set to be released on November 9, 2021.
