Was Jada Pinkett Smith’s AFFAIR with August Alsina the real reason for her split from Will Smith? Actress had an ‘entanglement’ with younger singer the SAME year she says her marriage ended – but makes NO mention of it in shock separation reveal

Jada Pinkett Smith stunned the world today when she revealed that she and husband Will Smith have been secretly separated for seven years – citing ‘exhaustion of trying’ as the reason for their split.

In a bombshell interview, Jada, 52, remained tight-lipped about what ‘torn apart’ their marriage, which the pair have continued to fake in public to this day, saying only that there were ‘a lot of things’ that led them in 2016. division.

However, what Jada failed to mention is that the split happened the same year she had an affair with singer August Alsina – not referring to the scandalous ‘mess’ with the young man, which she first revealed to the world in 2020.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Today host Hoda Kotb asked the Gotham actress why their relationship broke up, to which she replied: ‘Oh, why did it break up? That’s a lot of things, and I think by the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with the effort.’

The mother-of-two, who said they were not looking to divorce, continued: “I think we were both still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be. I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to divorce. We’ll work through anything… and I just haven’t been able to break that promise.’

It was around this time, in 2016, that Jada became romantically involved with August, who is 21 years her junior.

News of Jada’s fling with August first emerged in 2020 – but she and Will initially denied the allegations, claiming they were “absolutely not true”.

In an interview with radio host Angela Yee on June 30 of that year, August said he had been romantically involved with Jada and had received Will’s blessing.

“I actually sat down with Will and had a conversation because of the transformation from their marriage to a life partnership. He gave me his blessing,” he explained.

“I was completely devoted to that relationship for years of my life, and I really and really, really, deeply loved it and have a ton of love for it. I devoted myself to it.

‘I gave myself completely. So much so that I can die now, and be good knowing that I have given myself completely to someone, some people never get that in this life. It almost killed me. Not almost. It did – it made me a different person. It destroyed me’.

August continued: “It will probably be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to experience in this life. Contrary to what some people may believe, I am not a troublemaker. I don’t like drama. The drama actually makes me nauseous.

“I also don’t think it’s important for people to know what I do, who I sleep with, who I date, right? But in this case, there are so many people looking at me sideways… And I think it’s because people don’t necessarily know the truth,” he added.

The following month, Jada sat down with Will to address rumors about their relationship status — and decided to film the entire conversation on camera as part of her Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk.

Jada confirmed she was in a ‘tangle’ with August – but insisted she and Will had broken up at the time.

“We were done,” she told Will in the episode. “From there, over time, I got into another kind of mess with August.

However, the pair denied August’s claim that Will had given him permission to continue his relationship with Jada.

“One of the things I want to clarify that was being circulated in the press was that you gave permission, which the only person who can give permission in that particular circumstance is me,” Jada said.

“But what August was really trying to communicate—because I could actually see how he would perceive it as permission because we parted amicably—I think he also wanted to make it clear that he’s not a spoiler. of the house, which it is not.”

Jada confirmed that she and Will met August through their son Jaden and recalled that the singer, who would have been 23 at the time, was ‘really ill’.

“It all started with him just needing help, I want to help his health, his mental state,” she explained.

“His departure from our family was initially for his health. We found all these different resources to help him get rid of him and from there you and I were having a very difficult time,’ she told Will.

After Jada’s confession, Will admitted, “I’m done with you.” Jada added that they decided to split up for a ‘period of time’.

“And then what did you do, Jada?” Will asked as he asked his wife to continue talking.

“As time went on, I got into a different kind of mess with August,” Jada explained.

When Will pushed Jada to clarify what she meant by ‘messing up’ she replied: ‘It was a relationship, absolutely.’

She continued: “I was in a lot of pain and I was very broken. In the process of that relationship I definitely realized that you can’t find happiness outside of yourself.’

After Jada admitted to having an affair with the singer-songwriter, some of Will’s comments prompted viewers to question whether he had had affairs of his own in the past.

The Gemini Man star said the couple had ‘made mistakes without fear of losing’ the family.

“We got together young and were both broken in our own ways. “Being able to make mistakes without fear of losing your family is so critical,” he said.

A few years before their interview on Red Table Talk, Will said the couple no longer used the title ‘married’, but instead referred to each other as ‘life partners’.

“We don’t even say we’re married anymore,” he told BET in 2018, before adding, “We refer to ourselves as life partners, where you get into that space where you realize you’re literally with someone for the rest of your life. your life.’

Jada has been married to Will since 1997. They are parents to Jaden, 25, and daughter Willow, 22. Will has a son Trey, 30, from his first marriage to Sheree Zampino, 55.