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Jada Pinkett Smith’s marriage to Will Smith has truly stood the test of time. Despite all kinds of drama, the actors have remained together after more than two decades together. How they make it work? Pinkett Smith once credited their long-lasting bond to the chemistry and foundation they set in the beginning.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith on the red carpet at an award show in February 2015 in Hollywood, California | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith are one of Hollywood’s most enduring couples

Their relationship dates all the way back to the early ’90s, when Pinkett Smith auditioned to play one of Smith’s girlfriends on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Though she ultimately lost the role to Nia Long, she did manage to pique Smith’s interest.

In a 2018 episode of Red Table Talk, Smith said that he went to visit her on the set of her show A Different World in hopes of scoring a date. However, he instead wound up running into actor Sheree Zampino, whom he proceeded to date and wed. That relationship produced one son, Trey, before the pair split in 1995 after three years together.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith in September 1995 at the Academy Theatre in Beverly Hills, California | Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

After the breakup, Smith called the Jason’s Lyric actor to ask her out. “Are you seeing anybody?” he remembered asking. When she told him she wasn’t, he said, “Cool. You’re seeing me now.”

He and Pinkett Smith dated for two years before marrying in an intimate ceremony in 1997. They are now parents to two more children, Jaden and Willow, and have been together for nearly three decades.

Here’s the secret to Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s long-lasting marriage

As far as what makes their relationship work, Pinkett Smith said in a 2017 interview on Watch What Happens Live: “Will and I just have amazing chemistry on a lot of different levels. We love to laugh together. We love to learn together and we just love each other. We just have a good time together. I guess that’s the secret. We just really like each other.”

Smith has said that Pinkett Smith has helped him explore sides of himself that he didn’t know existed while he has challenged her to step outside her comfort zone. It is this kind of balance and bond that has helped their relationship thrive, even in the face of serious obstacles.

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Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s marriage has not been all smooth-sailing

Throughout the years, the Smiths have faced plenty of drama together — from rumors of affairs to talks of a divorce. Over the summer of 2020, they dealt with claims that Pinkett Smith had had an affair with R&B singer August Alsina.

The rumors stemmed from their unlikely friendship, but both of them claimed on Red Table Talk that their relationship was platonic. It wasn’t until June that August Alsina went public and confirmed that he’d had a relationship with Pinkett Smith with her husband’s “blessing.”

It was a moment that changed the way many people viewed the Smiths and their seemingly “perfect” relationship. However, the couple remained strong and put on a united front on another episode of Red Table Talk, where Pinkett Smith admitted to having an “entanglement” with August Alsina when she and Smith were secretly separated.

Towards the end of the episode, they admitted that they had fully reconciled as Smith sweetly told his wife, “I could love you through anything.”

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