The Hollywood couple's marriage came under intense spotlight at last year's Academy Awards
Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed that her husband Will Smith's infamous 2022 Oscars slap actually helped save their marriage. The Daytime Emmy-winning talk show host and actress said in an interview about how her husband's infamous slap during the 2022 Academy Awards helped her realize that they will always be together, People reported.
''I nearly didn't even attend the Oscars that year, but I'm glad I did. I call it the 'holy slap' now because so many positive things came after it. That moment of the s— hitting the fan is when you see where you are. After all those years trying to figure out if I would leave Will's side, it took that slap for me to see I will never leave him,'' she said.
She added, ''Who knows where our relationship would be if that hadn't happened?''
A few weeks back, Ms Smith said that she and Will Smith are "working very hard" on their marriage. Speaking to NBC News, she said they are focusing on "healing the relationship". She claimed that they were "exhausted with trying" by the time they parted ways.
The Hollywood power couple's marriage came under intense spotlight at last year's Academy Awards when Mr Smith struck comedian Chris Rock on stage for making a joke about his wife. Mr Rock had joked about Jada Pinkett and had said, "Can't wait for GI Jane 2," referring to her hair. It is to be noted that she has a condition called alopecia which causes hair loss. After slapping, Mr Smith returned to his seat and said, “Keep my wife's name out of your f*****g mouth.''
The ''The Pursuit of Happyness'' actor later apologised to both Mr. Rock and the Academy for his behaviour.
Later, the couple shockingly revealed that they had been living separately for six years before the infamous "Oscars slap". Ms Smith added that they have been living "completely separate lives" and did not announce this earlier since they were "not ready" yet.
Notably, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith first met on the set of his sitcom 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' in 1994. Mr Smith was married at the time to his first wife, whom he later divorced. Will and Jada got married in 1997 and share two children, 24-year-old son Jaden Smith and 21-year-old daughter Willow Smith.