Will Smith calls estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith one of his 'ride-or-dies' - despite secret seven-year separation

Will Smith knows he can always count on his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, despite making the decision to secretly separate back in 2016. 

Although the couple are no longer romantically involved, the Oscar winner, 55, listed her among the people in his life that he considers a 'ride-or-die.'

When asked to identity the people in his life that he considers 'ride-or-die' by Entertainment Tonight, the father-of-three gave Pinkett Smith, who is the mother of his two youngest kids Jaden Smith, 25, and Willow Smith, 23, a sweet shoutout. 

'It's funny, I was just talking about this, I have always been blessed that there has never been a time in my life when I didn't look to the side and have a ride-or-die right there,' Smith said at a screening of his new film, Bad Boys: Ride or Die. 'Jada is one of the most gangsta ride-or-dies I've ever had.'

Will Smith knows he can always count on his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, despite making the decision to secretly separate back in 2016 (seen in 2022)

The King Richard star also named his longtime pals 'DJ Jazzy Jeff and Alfonso Ribieiro' as two other 'ride-or-die' people in his life. 

A ride or die is an affectionate term for someone that is there for you through the highs and the lows of life. 

In October, Pinkett Smith has revealed that she and Smith have been secretly separated for more than seven years, but had no plans to divorce. 

While appearing on the Today Show, Pinkett Smith told Hoda Kotb that they made the decision after feeling 'exhausted with trying' to work on their marriage.

'I think we were both still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be,' she explained of what caused them to drift apart. 

In Pinkett Smith's book, Worthy, she describes the separation as a 'divorce,' but clarified they never filed any paperwork. 

'It was not a divorce on paper. But it was a divorce,' Pinkett Smith said.

In the interview, the mother-of-two - who admitted in 2020 that she'd had an affair with singer August Alsina - said she considered a legal divorce but could never go through with it, candidly revealing that she made a 'promise' to her husband that she would never give him a 'reason' to get divorced. 

Although the couple are no longer romantically involved and live separate lives, the Oscar winner, 55, listed her among the people in his life that he considers a 'ride or die' (seen in 2016)

When asked to identity the people in his life that he considers 'ride or die' by Entertainment Tonight, the father-of-three gave Pinkett Smith, who is the mother of his two youngest kids Jaden Smith, 25, and Willow Smith, 23, a sweet shoutout

'I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce,' she continued. 'We will work through whatever. And I just haven't been able to break that promise.'

'But you still live separately?' Hoda probed, prompting Jada to confirm 'we live separately'. 

Jada previously confirmed to People that they were already living separately when her husband slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022, when he strode onto the stage in a burst of fury over a joke that had been made about his wife's bald hairstyle. 

She noted that no permanent decisions have been made about the future of her marriage, explaining that she and Will are 'still figuring it out'. 

'We've been doing some really heavy-duty work together,' she said. 'We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like.'

Jada went on to praise her children - Jaden, Willow, and stepson Trey, 31, who Will welcomed during his first marriage to Sheree Zampino - for standing by her during this rocky time in her relationship. 

'My children, they're little gurus. They've taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance,' she said. 'They love every part of me. The level of love, unconditional love that they have for me and their dad. 

'And it's one thing to want to be the person that gives that unconditional love. And then there's, to be the recipient of that.'

Jada previously admitted she did have an affair with singer August Alsina (seen above in 2017) in 2020 during a Red Table Talk 

Jada's marriage to Will came under blistering public scrutiny in 2020, when she interviewed him on her chat show Red Table Talk about an 'entanglement' she had four years earlier with Alsina, who is 21 years her junior. 

The relationship gained even more notoriety in 2022 when Will slapped Chris at the Oscars for making a bald joke about Jada that visibly offended her. 

While speaking to Daily Mail's YOU Magazine, Pinkett Smith said 'many positive things came after' Smith slapped Rock.

"I nearly didn’t even attend the Oscars that year, but I’m glad I did," Jada said. 'I call it the "holy slap" now.' 

She continued: '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. Who knows where our relationship would be if that hadn’t happened?'