‘I was not built for conventional marriage’ – Jada Pinketh Smith says in new interview

In a candid interview with the Guardian UK, Jada Pinkett Smith is sharing her thoughts on what motivates her, marriage to Will Smith, parenting, making choices and many more.

The actress who until recently had been very private about her personal life has become forthcoming following the launch of her Facebook discussion forum, Red Table Talk.

While Pinkett Smith is an accomplished actor in her own right, her achievements are no doubt less appreciated, dwarfed by the superstar status of her husband, Will Smith. In fact, that was probably the only light in which many views her, perhaps until the birth of the Red Table Talk, described by the Guardian as “the breakthrough unscripted hit in the world of social-media television.”

Hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, her mum, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and daughter, Willow Smith, it is no brainer that the Red Table Talk is a hit no less due to the fact that it provides “a forum where the perspectives of three different generations on a wide variety of topics are shared.”

The show first aired on Facebook on the 7th of May 2018 and fittingly, the topic was about the Smith’s family. It makes sense to first talk about yourself if you’re gonna talk about love, relationships, parenting, family and other social issues.

So, The Guardian caught up with Jada Pinkett Smith to learn more about what makes her tick.

According to her, she was inspired by a conversation she had with three close friends, which led her to believe that people, especially women should be able to tell their stories in a safe way.

Her words: “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. But it wasn’t necessarily advice, it was that they were willing to spend time with me and share. Before that… well, usually we women have to tell our stories in a safe way because people often want to persecute us for being sexually free.”

Jada also opened up about her relationship with husband, who it had been revealed in a previous episode of the Red Table Talk  she had married partly because she got pregnant for him even though she didn’t really want to marry.

“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.”

According to the Guardian, Jada “had spent many years feeling frustrated by her position as wife to her very successful husband” such that even for a time the couple temporarily separated, with her moving to New York on her own for a while, “to find herself.”

Especially as the Jada explains she “was not built for conventional marriage.”

“Even the word ‘wife’: it’s a golden cage, swallow the key,” She tells the Guardian. “Even before I was married, I was like, ‘That’ll kill me.’ And it damn near did!”

So, there was that episode of the Red Table Talk show where Will and Jada opened up about their feelings on their marriage, with Jada telling Smith, she didn’t even want to get married in the first place.

On while air their dirty linen to the public, Jada explains:

“We decided to make it public because it’s part of the healing. I feel like if we don’t have a real understanding about it, I don’t know if interpersonal relationships are possible.”

On religion, Jada reveals she doesn’t belong to any organised religion, including Scientology as rumour had it.

“Oh I know everybody keeps wanting to make me into one (Scientologist), but I’m not,” says she. “If I were, I would have no problem saying it.”

To read more, visit the Guardian website.