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Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s relationship has been a topic of conversation and controversy ever since they got together, partially because of how famous each of them is and partially because of the mystery that surrounds their relationship. Before Will was with Jada, he was married to Sheree Zampino. What is Will’s relationship with Sheree like now?

Sheree Zampino and Will Smith
Sheree Zampino and Will Smith | Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Will Smith and Sheree Zampino’s relationship

The interesting thing about Will and Zampino’s relationship is that Will actually met his first wife when he intended to meet Jada. He had been wanting to meet Jada since seeing her on A Different World.

“I went to Different World to meet Jada and met Sheree and ended up marrying Sheree and having Trey with Sheree,” Smith said on Red Table Talk, according to The List. “I didn’t meet Jada that day … we had all these near misses.”

After meeting on the set of A Different World, Will and Zampino got married in 1992 and had their son Trey. When Will did eventually meet Jada, he realized how strong their bond was, but he never intended to divorce his wife. So, instead, Zampino filed for divorce.

According to Zampino, it wasn’t infidelity that caused the end of the relationship.

“Our marriage ended because we were so young,” Zampino wrote on Facebook. “It’s just a lot of responsibility. Marriage is not easy. Especially at that age.”

Will married Jada in 1997.

Sheree Zampino, Will Smith, and son Trey Smith
Sheree Zampino, Will Smith, and son Trey Smith | Ron Eisenberg/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Will and Sheree’s relationship

For Zampino, moving on with her life after Will wasn’t hard.

“At the time I got divorced, it was a long, long, long time ago,” she recently told Fox News. “Social media wasn’t even in existence. So I didn’t deal with it in such a public way. When we got divorced, it was obvious that we didn’t work. But now, it’s about our son. I’m telling you, we made the shift beautifully.”

Will and Zampino have come to a point where they can co-parent almost seemlessly.

“I’m not saying it was problem-free and we didn’t encounter any bumps,” said Zampino. “But I think that in terms of co-parenting, we’re more successful, a lot more successful actually, than in a marriage dynamic. We were put on this Earth to be co-parents. That’s what we did and that’s what we’re doing. We love each other and it’s been amazing. It’s been a blessing.”

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Do Jada Pinkett Smith and Sheree Zampino get along?

In the beginning, Jada and Zampino didn’t get along but eventually Jada had to come to terms with the fact that Zampino was going to be around forever.

“One of the coping mechanisms with me with Sheree was really, like, ‘Hey, she gifted me.’ She really did. She gifted me,” Jada said, according to Oprah Magazine. “I started to put that into my psychology. She’s not an enemy. She did me a favor. But then on top of that, I had to go into an even deeper psychology of, ‘She’s Trey’s mother,’ as my relationship with Trey deepened.”

Now, the three have a relationship where they can co-parent without any of the animosity that colored the beginning of their relationship.

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