Will Smith has said his wife Jada Pinkett Smith was not the only person to have had an extramarital affair.
The couple’s marriage made headlines last year after Pinkett Smith, 50, revealed she had an “entanglement” with rapper August Alsina while separated from her husband.
It came after weeks of rumours over their relationship.
Hollywood star Smith, 53, told British GQ his wife of 24 years “never believed in conventional marriage”.
He said: “Jada had family members that had an unconventional relationship. So she grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up. There were significant, endless discussions about ‘What is relational perfection? What is the perfect way to interact as a couple?’
“And for the large part of our relationship, monogamy was what we chose, not thinking of monogamy as the only relational perfection.”
Smith, who is preparing to release his memoir, Will, added: “We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way. And marriage for us can’t be a prison.
“And I don’t suggest our road for anybody. I don’t suggest this road for anybody. But the experiences that the freedoms we’ve given one another… and the unconditional support, to me, is the highest definition of love.”
The Smiths, who met on the set of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, have been married since 1997 and share two children, Jaden and Willow.
Pinkett Smith revealed her relationship with Alsina, 29, during an episode of her Red Table Talk web series.
Smith is said to have told GQ that viewers may have walked away “thinking that Pinkett Smith was the only one engaging in other sexual relationships”.
However, the actor reportedly “delicately explained” that was not the case.
Elsewhere in the interview Smith, who has earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of the Williams sisters’ father and tennis coach in biopic King Richard, discussed social justice issues.
He explained his problem with slogans such as “defund the police”, arguing the phrase is off-putting for many voters.
Smith said: “So ‘Abolish the police. Defund the police.’ I would love if we would just say ‘Defund the bad police.’ It’s almost like I want, as black Americans, for us to change our marketing for the new position we’re in. So ‘critical race theory’, just call it ‘truth theory’.
“This is a difficult area to discuss, but I feel like the simplicity of Black Lives Matter was perfect. Anybody who tries to debate Black Lives Matter looks ridiculous. … From a standpoint of getting it done, ‘Black Lives Matter’ gets it done. ‘Defund the police’ doesn’t get it done, no matter how good the ideas are.”
See the full feature in the November issue of British GQ available via digital download and on newsstands October 1st.
