Jada Pinkett Smith: 'I'm Not His Watcher. He's a Grown Man'

Ben Graham | June 4, 2015
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Hollywood is rife with celebrities making unconventional lifestyle choices. Will and Jada Pinkett Smith are no different. 

The Smiths have what is called an “open marriage," and claim to be happy with the arrangement.

In a radio interview with Howard Stern on Wednesday, Jada said that she trusts her husband.

With what exactly? She doesn't specify.

"You gotta trust who you're with, and at the end of the day, I'm not here to be anybody's watcher," Mrs. Smith said.

"I'm not his watcher," she went on. "He's a grown man."

"I trust that the man that Will is, is a man of integrity. He's got all the freedom in the world, and as long as Will can look at himself in the mirror and be okay, I'm good."

Whether she means that her husband can cheat so long as he can live with himself, we cannot be certain. 

Jada Pinkett Smith first discussed her open marriage back in 2013. A week after her initial remarks, Mrs. Smith released the following statement to clarify what she meant. 

"Here is how I will change my statement...Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other to do so," she said. 

"This does NOT mean we have an open relationship...this means we have a GROWN one."

Jada then asked a series of rhetorical questions to illustrate her views on marriage: 

"Do we believe loving someone means owning them? Do we believe that ownership is the reason someone should 'behave'? Do we believe that all the expectations, conditions, and underlying threats of 'you better act right or else' keep one honest and true? Do we believe that we can have meaningful relationships with people who have not defined nor live by the integrity of his or her higher self?

"What of unconditional love? Or does love look like, feel like, and operate as enslavement? Do we believe that the more control we put on someone the safer we are? What of TRUST and LOVE?

"Should we be married to individuals who cannot be responsible for themselves and their families within their freedom? Should we be in relationships with individuals who we can not entrust to their own values, integrity, and LOVE...for us???"

Instead of clarifying, Mrs. Smith raised more questions: 

Since when does expecting commitment and devotion equate to spousal slavery? 

Do we have to sacrifice our expectations of marriage, such as expecting fidelity in a spouse, for a marriage to be meaningful? 

What of the wedding vows a husband and wife make to one another? 

Would you want to be in a relationship like theirs? 

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