We thought it would last forever – here is a look back at Will and Jada’s love story, get the tissues ready
MediaPunch/REX
As Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s marriage is rumoured to be over, we grabbed a few tissues and decided to take a look back at what we thought was one of Hollywood’s greatest couples.
The Hollywood pair have not been photographed together since August and US websites said they were living separate lives.
It comes after Jada raised eyebrows at a charity event when an audience member claimed she told the crowd: “When you are going through a storm with your spouse… stop thinking about what you ‘believe’ a husband or wife should be.”
The pair have been married for 15 years. A source close to the actors said: “They were considered to have one of the most solid marriages in Hollywood, but lately it hasn’t seemed that way. Things seemed tense for months.”
So prepare to get more than a bit emotional as we take a look back over Will and Jada’s romance, children and careers….
HOW THEY MET
Believe it or not, the couple first met in 1995 when she auditioned for the part of gangly Will’s girlfriend in The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. Jada didn’t get the part as she was considered to too short but the pair became friends and started seeing each other.
FRIENDS BEFORE LOVERS
Will and Jada have always said they were pals before embarking on a romance.
Jada famously said: “”After we had known each other for many years, we went out for dinner one night with mutual friends and I saw that he had grown from this lanky kid to this really responsible man. We started courting each other and our friendship turned into romance.”
FIRST DATE
Their first date wasn’t just a straight dinner and movie – they went to Mexico.
Bizarrely Jada didn’t find her husband funny when they first met and according to Will it took her TWO YEARS to laugh at something her said.
LOVE THEN MARRIAGE
Will, then 29, and Jada, then 26, tied the knot in a secret New Year’s Eve ceremony in 1997. Jada wore a wore a champagne-colored silk and velvet gown by Badgley for the nuptials in Baltimore at the Cloisters Mansion.
According to sources TRÂ-Knox sang at the wedding.
CHILDREN
Will and Jada went on to have two children Willow and Jaden, and lived with Will’s son Trey with ex-wife Sheree Zampino.
Jaden, 15, is fast becoming a star in his own right, starring in Karate Kid and alongside his dad in The Pursuit of Happyness, whereas 12-year-old Willow re[portedly dreams of being a singer, releasing single Whip My Hair.
Splash
LOVE
Together, Will and Jada founded Overbrook Entertainment and established the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation to fund charitable organizations in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and other cities.
RELATIONSHIPS
One of the reasons we love them are the couple are always so sweet about one another – until this year that is.
Jada previously said: “The most important aspect of our relationship is that we continue to grow together— you have to be willing to take journeys with your partner. And even our relationship has gone through bad times. But if you can survive them, you’ll have an even deeper connection. What’s more important, chemistry or friendship?
Will has also made our hearts swell, saying about Jada: “With Jada I stood up in front of God and my family and said, ’till death us do part’. Divorce cannot be an option … I honestly believe there is no woman for me but Jada.
“No-one can handle me the way she does … Once you feel someone locked in on you, it’s no contest. This is it. I can’t imagine what anyone else would offer.”
DIVORCE?
According to Radar Online, Jada, 42, has now moved into brother Caleeb’s LA home. It said Will, 45, is living in New Orleans while he films movie Focus.
Speculation has been mounting since Jada said in an interview in April that Will “can do whatever” he wants. She later said on Facebook: “There are more important things to talk about than whether I have an open marriage.”
She also took children Willow, 12, and Jaden, 15, to Paris without Will and it was reported they had put their home on the market, but a rep denied it.
In 2011, Men in Black star Will and Jada had to defend their marriage over claims she was having a fling with J-Lo’s ex Marc Anthony. The couple’s agents declined to comment.
Hollywood couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith on "trial separation": Their love story
