#Will Smith Opens Up About The Time He & Jada Pinkett Smith Separated In Oprah Winfrey Interview

In an interview on AppleTV+’s The Oprah Conversation, the 53-year-old actor discussed major highlights from his upcoming memoir, Will, with Oprah Winfrey. And at one point during their conversation, he recalled the early days of their relationship when they were still in their honeymoon phase. While reading an excerpt from his book, the host said:

“We drank every day, we had sex multiple times every day for four straight months. I started to wonder if this was a competition. Either way, as far as I was concerned, there were only two possibilities: I was going to satisfy this woman sexually or I was going to die trying.”

However, Will joked that everything “ended up being a lot more complex than that” before adding:

“Those early days were spectacular. Me and Jada, to this day, if we start talking, it’s four hours. It’s four hours if we exchange a sentence. It’s the center of why we’ve been able to sustain and why we’re still together, not choking the life out of each other. The ability to work through issues, I’ve never met another person that I connect with in conversation more blissfully and productively than Jada.”

Related: Will Smith Confesses He Once Thought About Killing His Father — And Explains Why

But like many couples, Will and Jada still suffered some troubles in their marriage, even spending time apart after an intense argument over a 40th birthday party he threw for her in 2011. During a Red Table Talk episode, the Aladdin star admitted that Jada found the party to be “the most ridiculous display of my ego,” which caused them to take a step back and reevaluate things. When Oprah questioned whether the couple was separated for “months or years,” the Aladdin star replied:

“It’s really funny, we didn’t … we never actually like, officially, separated, right? What happened was we realized that it was a fantasy illusion that we could make each other happy. And we agreed that she had to make herself happy and I had to make myself happy and then we were going to present ourselves back into the relationship already happy, versus demanding the other person fill our empty cup.”

Ultimately, Will believes that time apart “helped us both to discover the power of loving in freedom.” As you know, the pair’s unconventional marriage has been the subject of rumors for years — with the whispers ramping up after Jada confirmed her “entanglement” with August Alsina. Smith then subsequently revealed he had his own affairs in a recent GQ interview, claiming his wife wasn’t “the only one engaging in other sexual relationships.”

So of course, Oprah also had to ask the million-dollar question about their open relationship:

“Does that mean you all can have other partners, do whatever you want to do, but you have to be respectful of each other?”

To which Will responded:

“So we talk about everything. I think the difficulty that people have and difficulty in discussing it is people only think in terms of sex.”

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum went on to say that Jada never wanted a “traditional” marriage, adding:

“Even the idea where people are trying to put something on it — ‘Will and Jada — what they doing with other people?’ — Will and Jada ain’t really doing too much of nuthin. Will and Jada are on a spiritual journey to cleanse the poisonous, unloving parts of our hearts. And we’re doing it together in this lifetime no matter what. But the goal is not a sexual goal, everybody. We are going to love each other no matter what.”

Even more so, he expressed that there’s no partner who can make either of them happy:

“Since we are talking about it, Oprah, let’s just talk about it: No woman can make me happy, so I don’t need to look for one to try and make me happy. No man can make Jada happy, so she don’t need to go look for one to make her happy. We both know that. There is no person that will fill your hole. That was probably not the best way to say that, but y’all know what I mean.”

Wow…

Thoughts about what Will had to say, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below).

[Image via Oprah Winfrey/Instagram, FayesVision/WENN ]