Will Smith is in dad mode, this time celebrating his eldest son, Trey. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air star joined his family and close friends this week for Trey’s 33rd birthday, marking a rare public appearance with the son he once admitted he “struggled for years” to reconnect with.
In photos shared by Will’s ex-wife Sheree Zampino, the proud parents posed with Trey, surrounded by a mix of Smith family members - including Jada Pinkett Smith and his half-brother Jaden at a casino-themed dinner party. “What a pure delight and magnificent soul you are!” Sheree wrote in her heartfelt tribute.
She also shared some insight into what the artist is like as a person. "Your light is infectious and the love, grace, and compassion that you live & move in is such a beautiful honor, privilege & joy to behold!" she wrote. "To say that I am honored to be your Mother would only touch the surface of the depth of my gratitude and love for you!"
Will and Zampino married in 1992 and welcomed Trey that same year before divorcing three years later. Smith has called the divorce “the ultimate failure." In a 2020 Father's Day episode of Jada's Red Table Talk Facebook Watch series, he admitted, "Divorce was the worst thing in my adult life. Divorce was the ultimate failure for me."
"I've been hurt a lot in my adult life, but I don't think anything touches the failure of getting divorced from my [then] 2-year-old son's mother," he continued. "If a man's not a great husband, then he loses his parental rights. And I'm a way better father than I am a husband."
A rocky start
In 2018, for Trey's birthday, he opened up on Instagram about the strain it put on their relationship. “It has not always been like this between Trey & me. We STRUGGLED FOR YEARS after my Divorce from his Mother. He felt betrayed & abandoned," he wrote. "It is a Wild Blessing to recover & restore a Loving Relationship with My Beautiful Son!"
He shared a sweet story about Trey saying he looked at him during their trip to F1 and said, “You’re not just my dad. I’m pretty sure you’re my best friend.” Will teared up recounting it, “I was like, yeah man, prolly, prolly.”
While it started rocky, Will and Zampino have become one of Hollywood’s healthiest examples of co-parenting.
She often joins Will, Jada, and their kids, Jaden and Willow, for family gatherings. Last year, Jada shared a photo for fathers Day of Will asleep on a couch surrounded by all his kids, herself, and Zampino.
Trey, who’s dabbled in acting and music, once appeared alongside his dad in the Just the Two of Us music video in 1998 and guest-starred in All of Us in 2003. He has 734k followers on Instagram, where he shares music production and clips of him singing. He's also a Twitch streamer.