Jada Pinkett Smith Says She Doesn’t Have A “Conventional Marriage”: ”I Knew That I Wasn’t Built For A Conventional Marriage”

‘Red Table Talk’ host Jada Pinkett-Smith has never shied away from being brutally honest when it comes to her personal life; and in an interview with The Guardian, she opens up about tough conversations with her husband of almost 22 years Will Smith and her daughter, Willow.

Jada said she knew her marriage to Will couldn’t have been “conventional.” “I knew that I was not built for conventional marriage,” she said. “Even the word ‘wife’: it’s a golden cage, swallow the key. Even before I was married, I was like, ‘That’ll kill me.’ And it damn near did!”

She continued, “So why wouldn’t you share what you’ve been through, when you see that other people are out there, trying to figure this crap out? We decided to make it public because it’s part of the healing. I feel like if we don’t have real understanding about it, I don’t know if interpersonal relationships are possible.”

Although she spoke on the unglamorous side of marriage, she did not want to confuse that with the idea that she’s not happy being married, especially to #WillSmith. 

“Will is my life partner, and I could not ask for a better one. I adore him; I never want people to think it was Will I didn’t want to marry – he and I were talking about this the other day. But I can assure you that some of the most powerful women in the world feel caged and tied, because of the sacrifices they have to make to be in that position. So I wanted to talk about how we really feel about marriage. How do we really feel about different, unconventional relationships? How do we really feel about raising children? Honestly.”

Jada shared with the publication that she survived the rough times where she felt “caged and tied” thanks to the women in her life that helped her talk things out, something she now does with daughter #WillowSmith.

“When I was going through a really tough time in my life, there were three women, three friends, who were so honest with me – I mean so honest with me, saying some stuff you would never expect anyone to say – that they re-directed my journey,” she said. “But it wasn’t necessarily advice; it was that they were willing to spend time with me and share.”