Will Smith Says He’s ‘Happier Than He’s Ever Been’ Amid Jada Headlines

Jada Pinkett Smith spoke about her new memoir Worthy at an event hosted at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in her hometown of Baltimore on Wednesday evening. The 52-year-old was supported by her family at the event, including her questionably-estranged husband Will Smith, who had nothing but words of effusive praise for his wife.

Smith was a surprise guest at the event, described by the Baltimore Sun as appearing “almost giddy with joy” while speaking before the crowd, which included Pinkett Smith’s mother Adrienne Banfield Norris, who was celebrating her 70th birthday; her three children, including “bonus son” Trey Smith and his mother, Sheree Zampino; as well as “multiple other cousins, aunts and family members.”

“I just really wanted to come out and just be here and hold it down for you the way you have held it down for me,” Will Smith told Pinkett Smith in front of the audience. “We have had a very, very long and tumultuous [relationship]. We call it ‘brutiful.’ It was brutal and beautiful at the same time.”

After noting that he and Pinkett Smith got together when they were just in their 20s, Smith continued: “I had huge dreams of what I wanted to do in the world and in my life, and I was on fire with a vision. And as I stand here before you today, I am happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”

The Men in Black star gushed that everything he ever accomplished in his life was because his wife was willing to put her own ambitions on hold, and that his dreams “were largely built on the foundation of Jada’s sacrifices.” He also stressed that Pinkett Smith had gone out of her way to develop a close friendship with Zampino, “so that I could have all of my children with me.”

As far as Pinkett Smith’s recent appearances that have triggered an avalanche of headlines, including the big reveal that the couple had been separated for seven years, since 2016; Smith said that he had been in Papua New Guinea assisting research in a biodiversity project for three weeks when everything went down. Apparently, he didn’t even have cell or internet service at the time, and it was all very much news to him when he finally landed in Sydney, Australia.

“Our union is a sloppy experiment in unconditional love,” he added. “Jada is the best friend I have ever had on this planet, and I am going to show up for her and support her for the rest of my life.”

However, it appears as though the couple might not be down for the count just yet. Days after Pinkett Smith revealed to the world that she and Smith were living separate lives, she backtracked the remarks to Today host Hoda Kotb, explaining that they had been “working hard at bringing our relationship together, back to a life partnership.”

She likewise reiterated that sentiment onstage in Baltimore, claiming that the six-year estrangement was in the past and they had grown much closer over the previous 18 months. “Will and me are good,” Pinkett Smith told CNN anchor and chief legal analyst Laura Coates, who moderated the discussion. “All the people who don’t understand and got something to say are just going to have to fall in line.”

“The truth of the matter is I’m not leaving Will’s side and he’s not going to leave mine. We’ve been on a powerful quest,” she explained, also insisting that she’s “happier than she’s ever been.”