Jada Pinkett Smith admitted that she became too engaged with Will Smith and his “dynamic” with his ex-wife Sheree Zampino after their divorce in the 1990s.
During Wednesday’s broadcast of Red Table Talk, Pinkett Smith and Zampino discussed their friendship over the years. Will Smith and the 51-year-old talk show personality began dating in 1995, months after he divorced Zampino. The two ladies then become co-parents to Smith and Zampino’s 29-year-old son Trey. Jaden, 24, and Willow, 21, are the couple’s two children from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Pinkett Smith and Zampino discussed their mixed family throughout their talk. Zampino didn’t have time to “adapt” to her new connection with her ex-husband, according to Pinkett Smith.
“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 then admitted that she should have waited a little longer before becoming engaged 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.”
Pinkett Smith also admitted in the show that while she’s built a deep friendship 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 said that the couple has now “figured out” how to have a mixed family before explaining how she came to realize Zampino will 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 was not the couple’s first time discussing their co-parenting approach. Trey Zampino said in March that even though there was “friction” at the beginning 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.”