We all know Jada Pinkett Smith is an open book once she sits down at her red table and her recent conversation with Gwyneth Paltrow was no different. On her show Red Table Talk on Wednesday the host and actress sat with her mom Adrienne Banfield-Norris, 68, and Paltrow to discuss the challenges of maintaining a healthy physical relationship with your partner and letting them know your desires. Jada was very candid as she vented about some of the struggles she has under the covers with her husband of over 20 years, Will Smith. “It’s hard,” Jada said. Read the details below.
© GettyPaltrow is just as open when it comes to desires and making sure you’re satisfied so it makes sense that Jada felt so comfortable with her. The 50-year-old told the Goop founder, “The thing Will and I talk about a lot is the journey. We started in this at a very young age, you know, 22 years old. That‘s why the accountability part really hit for me because I think you expect your partner to know [what you need], especially when it comes to sex. It’s like, ‘Well if you love me, you should know. If you love me, you should read my mind.’ That‘s a huge pitfall.”
The Shallow Hal actress knew where Jada was coming from and replied, “Isn’t it weird, though? It‘s like someone doesn’t read your mind and we feel crushed.” “Crushed” Jada said echoing her. She added, “You tell me what you need. Tell me what you want, and on top of it, I know that I have to be accountable to do the same...I really try. It‘s uncomfortable, but it’s deeply healthy, and I think around sex because it‘s something that we don’t talk about and there‘s so much fantasy around it.”
Following the episode “Jada” started trending on Twitter with users offering their opinions on the whole thing. Some seem uncomfortable hearing the information and are calling her an “oversharer.” Others are expressing sympathy for Will, “Jada needs to free Will. She embarrasses him unprovoked. If he’s so bad just let him go damn!!” One person tweeted. Another quipped, “WE KNOW HE AINT TUPAC JADA.” Someone even started a petition on Change.org to “take the Red Table” away from her.
After the backlash Jada took to Twitter and wrote, “Only because I got time today. Stop making up headlines. Watch the @RedTableTalk I did with @GwynethPaltrowfor yourselves. Will and I have NEVER had an issue in the bedroom. Thank you.”
The inner workings of Will and Jada’s relationship have been in the public conversation for years but it’s almost seemed like the world has had a front-row view since July of last year when it was revealed that Jada had gotten in an “entanglement” with R&B singer August Alsina. She brought Will to the table where they revealed they temporarily separated years prior and she admitted to the affair.
Many assumed it was just Jada that was having other sexual relationships and Will was miserable but last month she cleared the air in an interview with GQ magazine. “Jada never believed in a conventional marriage. Jada had family members that had an unconventional relationship. So she grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up. There were significant endless discussions about, what is relational perfection? What is the perfect way to interact as a couple? And for the large part of our relationship, monogamy was what we chose, not thinking of monogamy as the only relational perfection,” he told the outlet. ”We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way. And marriage for us can‘t be a prison. And I don’t suggest our road for anybody. I don‘t suggest this road for anybody. But the experiences that the freedoms that we’ve given one another and the unconditional support, to me, is the highest definition of love,” the 53-year actor said.
