Will Smith says Jada Pinkett Smith's separation confession 'woke him up'

Hollywood actor Will Smith has responded to wife Jada Pinkett Smith's confession about their estranged relationship. Photo: AP

Actor Will Smith has responded to estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s confession that they have been secretly separated, though not divorced, for about seven years.

Smith, 55, sent an e-mail to The New York Times, which published a profile on Pinkett Smith last Saturday, writing that her disclosure of their marriage “woke him up” to his wife’s “hidden nuances”.

The Oscar-winning actor realised Pinkett Smith “had lived a life more on the edge” and that “she is more resilient, clever and compassionate” than he had understood.

“When you’ve been with someone for more than half your life, a sort of emotional blindness sets in,” he wrote. “You can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties.”

The Matrix Resurrections (2021) actress, 52, opened up about their turbulent relationship on Oct 11 to NBC News as part of the publicity tour for her new memoir Worthy, which goes on sale on Tuesday (Oct 17).

“By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying,” Pinkett Smith said.

“I think we were both still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.”

The duo married in 1997 and were considered one of Hollywood’s power couples. They have two children – Jaden, 25, and Willow, 22 – while Smith also has a son, Trey, 30, from his first marriage. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network