Jada Pinkett Smith says she never wanted to marry Will Smith

Will Smith and his wife actress Jada Pinkett Smith attend the World Premiere of Disney’s 'Aladdin'. Photo: AFP

Jada Pinkett Smith says that she never wanted to marry Will Smith - and that the couple still doesn't label themselves "married" despite getting hitched more than two decades ago.

Pinkett Smith, 47, told People in a new interview that she "never wanted to get married" - but felt pressured into it by her family.

"I had never seen a happy marriage," she told People, saying she "adored" her partner, but did not want to marry.

Her mother, known as Gammy, called Will crying - which Pinkett Smith said was "infuriating" - and the meddling mum said "You have to get married."

The couple married on New Year's Eve in 1997 when Pinkett Smith was in her first trimester of pregnancy with son Jaden, now 20. The pair also share daughter Willow, 18. And Will has a son, Trey, 26, from his first marriage to Sheree Zampino.

Pinkett Smith told People that she's happy she did get married, but that she and Smith, 50, still do not label themselves as married.

"It's more of a life partnership ... I don't own him. He doesn't own me. He has to be his own person first, and vice versa ... Love is freedom," Pinkett Smith told People.

Pinkett Smith is most known for her roles in The Nutty Professor, the Matrix series, and as a voice in the animated Madagascar series. - New York Daily News/Tribune News Service