Will Smith may well have been banned from the Oscars after his infamous meltdown at the 2022 ceremony –  but both he and his estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith are arguably worthy of Academy Award recognition after putting on the performance of a lifetime for the last seven years, pretending to the world that they were blissfully married, while behind the scenes they had secretly separated.

The news of their separation was shared in dramatic fashion, with Jada, 52, sharing the ‘secret’ in a series of interviews this morning – just days before she is due to release her tell-all memoir, Worthy, which is expected to document the breakdown of their relationship in great detail.

In a candid sit-down with Today anchor Hoda Kotb, Jada revealed that she and Will had grown ‘exhausted’ of trying to make their marriage work – saying that they made the decision to separate back in 2016 and have been living apart ever since.

Jada’s revelation stunned the world – not least because the pair have spent the past seven years openly flaunting their so-called happy marriage to the world, repeatedly gushing about their romance in interviews and online.

Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband Will Smith have been separated for the last seven years

Even after the actress admitted that she’d had an affair with singer August Alsina in a bombshell 2020 episode of her Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk, the pair continued to brazenly declare their love and commitment for one another, putting on loved-up displays on the red carpet, sharing Instagram tributes, and regularly referring to one another as ‘husband’ and ‘wife’.

Then there was the moment that Will, 55, stormed the stage at the Oscars and proceeded to slap Chris Rock, seemingly in an effort to defend his wife’s honor after the comedian made a quip about her bald hairstyle.

It was christened ‘the slap heard round the world’ – but those reverberations are now echoing even louder in the wake of the news that Will and Jada weren’t actually living as husband and wife at the time, once again calling into question the actor’s motives for such a violent outburst.

The moment was just one of many declarations of love and commitment that the so-called ‘authentic’ duo have made to the world – all the while, behind the scenes, they were living completely separate lives.

Here DailyMail.com looks back at the numerous moments the pair have carried on the pretense of wedded bliss – in what has now been revealed as nothing more than a Hollywood sham.

2017: When Jada awkwardly explained how she keeps her marriage spicy – after 23 years together

One year after separating from Will, Jada appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen where she addressed rumors that she and Will were swingers – as well as revealing the secret to their long-lasting marriage.

‘That’s the craziest one! It’s constant,’ she said of the hearsay, before being pressed on how their marriage has survived.

‘I don’t know,’ Jada said at the time. ‘I mean, I’m baffled, really. Will and I just have amazing chemistry on a lot of different levels.

‘We love to laugh together, we love to learn together, and we just love each other. We just have a good time together.

‘Yeah, I guess that’s the secret. Yeah, we just really like each other.’

2018: Will reveals he and Jada ‘broke up’ before reconciling – and describes her as his ‘life partner’

Will had a candid conversation about divorce on the Red Table Talk in 2018, where he revealed there were cracks in his marriage with Jada – but that they had managed to overcome their issues.

‘Because I had been divorced before, I wasn’t getting divorced again,’ he said. ‘Divorce wasn’t an option. I was devastated even worse than a divorce.

‘We broke up within our marriage and got back together again. We had to rebuild with new rules and something way, completely different.’

Jade and Will, pictured at The Nutty Professor premiere in 1996, tied the knot one year later

Will referred to Jada as his ‘life partner’ during a podcast appearance in 2018 – despite separating in 2016 (pictured)

In that same year, Will insisted that nothing could ‘break’ his relationship with Jada, describing them as ‘life partners’.

Speaking to TIDAL’s Rap Radar podcast, he said: ‘We don’t even say we’re married anymore.

‘We refer to ourselves as life partners, where you get into that space where you realize you are literally with somebody for the rest of your life.

‘There’s no deal breakers. There’s nothing she could do — ever. Nothing that would break our relationship. She has my support till death, and it feels so good to get to that space.’

2019: Jada professes their bond is stronger than ever before – and their love is ‘beyond romantic’

While Jada shared that she had nearly reached a breaking point in her marriage to Will in 2019, she revealed their love had grown beyond just romantic.

In an interview with People, she said: ‘I am kind of a ride-or-die chick. I just knew with the kind of love that Will and I share — which is beyond romantic love — that we could transform our union and figure out how to re-create what we had.’

Will showed his affection for Jada as they posed for photos at the Aladdin premiere in May 2019

He continued to do so at the Gemini Man premiere in October 2019

Jada added to the publication: ‘The journey between Will and me… we have come to such a beautiful place. I feel like we have a stronger bond than we even had in the beginning.’

Over on the red carpet, the couple put on a loved up front while attending the premiere for Disney’s Aladdin in May 2019, with Will, who played the Genie, planting a kiss on his wife’s cheek.

Four months later, in October, Will pulled the same move while the pair posed for photos at the Gemini Man premiere.

2020: Jada discusses her ‘unconditional love’ for Will despite admitting to August Alsina affair 

Jada famously admitted to having a relationship with August Alsina in August 2020, referring to their fling at the time as an ‘entanglement’.

Sharing details during an episode of Red Table Talk with Will, the actress said that they were separated when she was with the singer, although she later reconnected with her husband.

‘I got into an entanglement with August…a relationship, yes, absolutely,’ Jada said verbatim, as Will sat across from her.

‘Through that particular journey, I learned so much about myself and was able to really confront a lot of emotional immaturity, emotional insecurity and I was really able to do some really deep healing.

Jada Pinkett Smith confesses to affair with August Alsina

Jada admitted to having a relationship with August Alsina in August 2020, referring to their fling as an ‘entanglement’

‘And as I came through and started to realize certain things about you and I, he decided to break all communication with me which was totally understandable.

‘And I let that be and hadn’t talked to [August] since so it is a little weird that all this stuff is coming out now since this was several [years ago].’

Jada and Will concluded by confirming they had repaired their relationship and had ‘really gotten to that new place of unconditional love’.

‘The one thing I’ll say about you and I is that there have never been secrets,’ she continued.

Will replied: ‘We came together young and we were both broken in our own ways, and to be able to make mistakes without the fear of losing your family is so critical.’

2021: Will said he and Jada were ‘pursuing unconditional love’

Will said he and Jada were ‘pursuing unconditional love’ during an interview with Good Morning America ahead of the release of his tell-all memoir.

‘We are pursuing the kind of love that everybody dreams about,’ he said.

‘We just know that the road [doesn’t] look like everybody think[s] it’s supposed to look. Don’t try this at home children.’

Will and Jada at the King Richard premiere in 2021, the same year he spoke of their ‘unconditional love’

In 2022: When Will slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars after ordering him to keep his ‘wife’s name out of his mouth’

At the 94th Academy Awards, Will famously slapped comedian Chris Rock when he joked that Jada looked like ‘G.I. Jane’ because of her bald head which she had recently revealed was caused by her alopecia.

Clearly enraged by the jab, the Fresh Prince star bellowed ‘keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth’ before he stormed the stage to hit Chris for poking fun.

Will Smith SLAPS Chris Rock at the Oscars over joke about Jada

+11
View gallery

Will and Jada had been separated for six years before the infamous Oscars slap in 2022

+11
View gallery

He climbed up on stage and hit Chris while defending his wife’s honor over a joke about her bald head

The shocking assault occurred moments before he took home the Best Actor gong for his portrayal of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams’s devoted father in the film King Richard.

In a rambling acceptance speech, a sobbing Will admitted that ‘love makes you do crazy things’ – but tellingly failed to apologize to Chris for his assault.

Months later in May 2022, Will firmly shot down affair rumors during a chat with CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King.

‘There’s never been infidelity in our marriage. Jada and I talk about everything, and we have never surprised one another with anything ever,’ he said.

The actor added that he doesn’t care if people speculate about his marriage and instead he encourages the ‘chatter’ in the hope it will spark meaningful debate.

‘I have decided that chatter about my life can be of a benefit to people,’ he continued.

‘Chatter is the first stage to having a real conversation and to be able to truly explore if some of the things in your heart are loving or poisonous.’

In 2023: Jada continues to publicly gush about her love for Will – weeks before revealing their split

Jada took to Instagram to declare her love for Will on his 55th birthday just last month.

Alongside a black and white throwback photograph of their young family from many moons prior, she penned: ‘Willard I am so glad you were born on this day. Without you I would not have experienced the greatest joy of my life… the love of our family.

‘On this Divine assignment we’ve chosen to walk together, I am grateful for the wells of laughter along the trails of tears we’ve shared.’

Jada continued: ‘Thank you for helping me learn to embrace it all … with a smile. Here’s to 100+ more birthdays full of growth, acceptance and joy.’

Will had posted a gushing tribute just one week earlier for Jada’s birthday, and shared a lookback at some of her milestone birthdays.

‘Happy Birthday, Mamita!’ he wrote at the time. ‘I’ve been to 28 of your birthday parties. (I don’t know if we’re ever gonna top the one that Rakim performed at… but here’s to a Lifetime of trying!)’