Jada Pinkett Smith Says She and Will Smith Separated in 2016

Rumors about one of Hollywood’s most famous couples have now been put to rest: The actress Jada Pinkett Smith has confirmed that she and Will Smith have been separated, though not legally divorced, for about seven years.

Pinkett Smith, also a talk-show host, shared the revelation in an interview with NBC News, previews of which were shown on Wednesday. The interview is part of a round of media appearances that Pinkett Smith is making to promote the publication of her new memoir, “Worthy.”

In the interview from Baltimore with anchor Hoda Kotb, which is set to be broadcast in full in a prime-time special on Friday, Pinkett Smith said she and Smith had decided in 2016 to live separate lives. The detail is among the intimacies revealed in the memoir, which will be released on Oct. 17.

“Why it fractured — that’s a lot of things,” Pinkett Smith said of her relationship with Smith, an Academy-Award-winning actor. “I think by the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying.”