Celebrity relationships may sometimes seem perfect, but this never the case. Case in point, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's marriage.
Recently, the seemingly perfect Hollywood couple opened up about the time their "marriage came crashing down," and things got emotional.
During the latest episode of Jada's Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk, titled "Our Unique Union," the pair sat down with Jada's mother, Adrienne Banfield Norris and their daughter Willow Smith for an open discussion.
The conversation turned to Jada's 40th birthday which saw Will decide to throw her an elaborate party. However, the couple revealed that the event backfired and pushed their relationship to a "low point".
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor made a big effort to celebrate the milestone, hiring a team of people to put together a documentary three years prior and getting Mary J. Blige to perform at the event.
In addition, he tracked down his wife's family roots, finding voice messages from Jada's grandmother that she had never heard before.
"It was going to be the thing that lifted her out of this midlife crisis and it was going to be my deepest, most beautiful proclamation of love," the Hitch star recalled.
But his grand gesture completely failed when Jada - in the midst of a "midlife crisis" - didn't enjoy the party, saying that the moment wasn't special because she was surrounded by dozens of guests.
In the talk, Will remembered initially feeling overjoyed, believing that he made his wife happy, but instead, she "was having a really difficult, emotional time."
This was made clear to him when the family began discussing additional birthday plans for the next day. Jada refused further celebrations and said that she didn't want to do anything, claiming: "I just wanted to have intimate time."
Telling her husband that she was unhappy with the celebration, Jada spoke some deep-seated truths.
"I was much more conscious of public perception than Jada," Will said. "She told me that the party was the most ridiculous display of my ego," he continued. "To this day, I know I was crushed because it was true. It wasn't a party for her."
He added that it had become clear "what Jada had been saying the whole time about hiding behind my ego, my dreams and my desires and pretending like it’s love and I realised [Jada] wanted none of the stuff I had built."
Jada explained further, saying that at age 40, she had reevaluated her life and came to the conclusion that she wanted to do things her way, rather than "trying to live up to an idea" for her husband.
"There was so much that wasn't me that I was living, so much inauthenticity," she said. "I do think that there are a lot more people living lives that aren't true to them, because of their fear."
Seven years later, the couple - who insisted that divorce was never an option for them - still remember the incident as the "day our marriage came crashing down" but describe it as a "turning point".
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In addition, they spoke out about the pressure that being famous put on their relationship, with the actor confessing that "the house was too big, there was always too many people here," and Jada admitting she was concerned about their children, Jaden and Willow, being bullied.
Will claimed that they had to "destroy our marriage," as a way of repairing their relationship, saying: "We broke up within our marriage and got back together again. We had to rebuild with new rules and something way, completely different."
Nowadays, they have been married for 21 years and are still going strong.
