Jada Pinkett Smith confessed that she got involved with Will Smith and his “dynamic” with his ex-wife Sheree Zampino too quickly following their divorce in the ‘90s.
Pinkett Smith and Zampino spoke out about their friendship over the years during Wednesday’s episode of Red Table Talk. The 51-year-old talk show host started her relationship with Will Smith back in 1995, months after he divorced from Zampino. The two women then become co-parents to Smith and Zampino’s son Trey, who is now 29-years-old. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star and Pinkett Smith also have two children, Jaden, 24, and Willow, 21.
During their conversation, Pinkett Smith and Zampino reflected on their blended family. Pinkett Smith remarked that Zampino didn’t have the chance to “adjust” to her new relationship with her ex-husband at the time.
“When I look back at how much was put on us and how much was put on you because we were so young and it was so public and it was so fresh. Like, you really didn’t even have time to adjust,” Pinkett Smith said, before adding: “You had no time. I didn’t understand that, cause you know, it was like a boyfriend.”
The actor went on to acknowledge that she should have waited a bit before getting involved with Smith and Zampino’s “dynamic”.
“I would have definitely had taken a beat as far as putting myself in the dynamic of you guys,” Pinkett Smith told Zampino. “‘Let’s give this a year, let’s let you two just flesh out whatever y’all have to figure out.’”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star shared that she remembered Pinkett Smith “coming to me, and you were teary, you were very emotional and you said, ‘I just didn’t know.’ And basically what you were saying is, ‘I was in the picture too soon’...And you apologised for that.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Pinkett Smith also confessed that while she’s formed a close bond with Zampino, it took some time to get there.
“We have developed a really nice sisterhood, but it hasn’t been easy along the way,” she explained, before admitting that there were points where the pair had “did have to fake it to make it”.
The Girls Trip star acknowledged that the pair has since “figured out” to have a blended family before describing how she came to the realisation that Zampino would be a part of her life.
“For me, it was really about maturity. Just not understanding the marital dynamic, like ‘OK, the divorce papers are sent, and people are over it, and this is done,’” she said. “Oh, guess what, it ain’t ever done…So that was my biggest misconception, in that this woman is a part of this family. It’s like not only taking on Trey, but Sheree was coming along too.”
This wasn’t the pair’s first time opening up about their strategies as co-parents. During an interview with Us Weekly in March, Zampino said that even though there was “friction” at the start of their relationship, Pinkett Smith was still “amazing” to Trey.
“But with her – and I always say this – as a mom, I just want the best for my child,” she said. “So my only demand, I will say it’s a demand, is that you’re good to him. And if you’re good to him then what’s the issue. We were able to be adults in that situation. We didn’t hold onto things and not communicate, not take accountability. So, that really was helpful.”
