The internet exploded. People were screaming at their screens, typing in all caps, and making memes faster than the video could even buffer. It was July 2020. Jada Pinkett Smith sat across from her husband, Will Smith, on her show Red Table Talk, and uttered a word that would basically rewrite the narrative of their entire thirty-year relationship: "entanglement."
Since that moment, the question is Will Smith a cuckold has dominated search engines and social media discourse. But reality is rarely as simple as a blunt internet label.
To understand what’s actually happening with the Smiths, you have to look past the surface-level jokes. You have to look at the timeline of their separation, their specific definitions of marriage, and how celebrity culture handles non-traditional dynamics. Most people think they know the story. They don't.
The Entanglement That Changed Everything
It started with August Alsina. The R&B singer went public claiming he had a years-long affair with Jada—and more importantly, he claimed Will gave his "blessing." That was the spark.
People immediately jumped to the conclusion that Will was a cuckold, a term that traditionally describes a man who knows about and potentially finds gratification in his wife's infidelity. But during that viral Red Table Talk episode, the couple clarified a massive detail most people ignore. They were separated.
"We decided that we were going to separate for a period of time and you go figure out how to make yourself happy and I’ll figure out how to make myself happy," Will said during the broadcast.
They weren't "together" in the traditional sense when Jada began her relationship with Alsina. Does that change the definition? For many, no. For the Smiths, it was a "transgression" that happened during a break, yet the label stuck. It stuck because Will looked visibly pained. His eyes were watery. He looked like a man who had lost a game he didn't even know he was playing.
Defining the Labels: Cuckoldry vs. Ethical Non-Monogamy
Let’s get into the weeds of the terminology here because the internet loves to use words it doesn't quite understand.
Strictly speaking, a cuckold is a man whose wife is unfaithful. In modern subcultures, it often refers to a specific fetish or a lifestyle choice where a husband watches or enjoys his partner being with other men. There is zero evidence—zero—that Will Smith finds sexual or emotional gratification in Jada being with other people.
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Instead, what the Smiths have described is closer to Ethical Non-Monogamy (ENM) or a "liquid" marriage.
In his 2021 memoir, Will, and subsequent interviews with GQ, Will was surprisingly candid. He admitted that for a large part of their marriage, they practiced monogamy. But eventually, they realized that "monogamy wasn't the only way to relate."
Will told GQ’s Wesley Lowery: "Jada never believed in conventional marriage... she had family members that had an unconventional relationship. So she grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up."
He also hinted that Jada wasn't the only one engaging with other people. "The pursuits of gratification that we agreed upon... the freedoms that we gave one another and the unconditional support, to me, is the highest definition of love," he explained. If both parties are participating, the "cuckold" label starts to fall apart. It becomes a two-way street. A partnership of non-conformance.
Why the Internet Can't Let It Go
Why are we so obsessed? Why does the question is Will Smith a cuckold keep trending years later?
It’s about the "Fresh Prince" image. We grew up with a version of Will Smith that was the ultimate charismatic lead. He was the hero. The winner. To see that man—someone who seemingly has everything—appearing to "allow" his wife to be with a younger man breaks the collective brain of the public.
There's also a heavy dose of projection.
Society struggles with the idea that a man can be powerful and also "allow" his partner autonomy that includes other men. It challenges traditional masculinity. When Will slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, the "cuckold" narrative surged again. Critics claimed he was overcompensating for his perceived lack of "manhood" in his marriage by acting out violently to defend Jada’s honor.
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It’s a messy psychological cocktail.
The Shocking Reveal of a Six-Year Secret
Just when we thought we understood the boundaries, Jada dropped another bomb in 2023. While promoting her book Worthy, she revealed to Hoda Kotb that she and Will had been living "completely separate lives" since 2016.
Think about that.
When the "entanglement" happened in 2020, they had already been living apart for four years. They weren't a couple in a traditional house. They were two people bound by a legal contract and a massive public brand, navigating their own lives.
This revelation complicates the is Will Smith a cuckold debate even further. If you are functionally divorced but haven't signed the papers, are you "allowing" your spouse to date, or are you just... not their partner anymore?
Jada explained that they weren't ready to go public yet. They were still "trying to figure out how to be in partnership." It sounds exhausting. It sounds human. It also sounds like a million miles away from the simple, derogatory label the internet wants to pin on Will.
Understanding the "Unconditional Love" Philosophy
Will Smith has often spoken about "unconditional love" in a way that sounds more like a philosophy than a marriage. He views his relationship with Jada as a "life partnership" rather than a standard marriage.
In this framework:
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- Ownership is discarded.
- Individual happiness is prioritized over the "unit."
- Privacy is a tool for survival, not just a preference.
But here is the catch. Even if they have this enlightened view, the optics have been disastrous for Will’s public standing. He went from the most likable man in Hollywood to a figure of pity or ridicule. That’s the price of transparency in an age where people prefer black-and-white morality.
The Verdict on the Label
So, is he? If you go by the dictionary of the "manosphere" or the corners of the internet that use the term as an insult, they’ll say yes. They see a man who hasn't "controlled" his wife's sexuality.
However, if you look at the facts—the long-term separation, the mutual agreement to seek happiness outside the marriage, and Will’s own admission of his own "pursuits"—the term is factually inaccurate. A "cuckold" is a specific role in a specific dynamic. Will and Jada are something else entirely. They are a post-modern, high-profile experiment in radical honesty that perhaps became too honest for the public to digest.
They are two people who refused to get a traditional divorce because of their "deep love" for one another, yet refused to live in a traditional marriage because it was "suffocating" them. It’s a paradox.
How to Evaluate Celebrity Relationships Moving Forward
If you’re trying to make sense of the Smiths or any other celebrity "scandal," keep these things in mind:
- Look for the Timeline: Most "affairs" in Hollywood happen during separations that haven't been made public yet.
- Question the Source: Is the information coming from a "source close to the couple" (usually a publicist) or the individuals themselves?
- Define Your Terms: Don't let social media slang dictate your understanding of complex human psychology.
- Acknowledge the Brand: Remember that for the Smiths, their marriage is also a multi-million dollar business. Decisions are often made to protect the "Will and Jada" entity as much as the individuals.
The story of Will Smith isn't a story of a "cuckold." It’s a story about the messy, painful, and often confusing reality of trying to maintain a partnership for three decades under a microscope. It’s about two people who decided to stop pretending they were perfect, only to find out that the world preferred the lie.
Instead of focusing on the labels, focus on the lesson: total transparency in a relationship is a double-edged sword. It can set you free, but it can also leave you exposed to a world that isn't ready to handle your truth. Will and Jada chose to be "unconventionally" honest, and we are still watching the fallout of that choice.