It has emerged that the reported marriage troubles between Will Smith, 43 and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, 40, earlier this year were due to their disagreement over managing their children’s careers.
At the time, there was speculation over an imminent divorce between the pair, who have been married for 14 years and have two children together — Jaden 13, and Willow 11.
The couple refrained from directly commenting on the divorce rumours, leaving it to a statement released to the press via Will’s publicist after a report in America’s In Touch Weekly magazine first published the break-up claims.
It read: ‘Although we are reluctant to respond to these types of press reports, the rumours circulating about our relationship are completely false. We are still together, and our marriage is intact.’
Will, the star of movies such as Men In Black and I Am Legend, first found fame as a rapper when he was 20-years-old and started his acting career The Fresh Prince of Bel Air when he was 22.
His children have already been launched into the world of entertainment — Jaden’s breakthrough acting role was alongside his father in The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006 when he was just eight years old and Willow hit the big screens with her dad in the 2007 movie I Am Legend when she was a mere seven years-old, going on to release her first single at 10 years of age.
It was Will and Jada’s children’s success that TMZ is reporting put strain on the marriage.
The website quotes sources close to the superstar couple as saying that although they are ‘wonderful’ now, earlier this year they had a disagreement over how best to manage the burgeoning careers of their kids.
According to the insider, it was a case of pushy-parenting with Will determined to propel his offspring towards greater stardom, while Jada wanted them to slow down.
Will himself is no stranger to success, with a worldwide career box office of $4.4 billion, in 2007 he was billed as the most powerful actor in Hollywood, and this legacy looks set to continue with the release of the third Men In Black III in 2012.
Will has been heavily involved in his children’s careers from the get-go — he acted alongside both Jaden and Willow in their debut movie roles and was also producer on the 2010 re-make of The Karate Kid, of which his son Jaden starred.
The Smith children were home-schooled by their mum prior to attending the New Village Academy, a school set-up by their parents with the aim of providing an educational environment in which children have fun learning.
Back in 2008 Will told Ellen DeGeneres that divorce was not an option for him and Jada, claiming, “We’re going to be together one way or the other so we might as well try to be happy.”
But perhaps Jada summed-up their relationship philosophy best when she told yourtango.com:
“The most important aspect of our relationship is that we continue to grow together — you have to be willing to take journeys with your partner. And even our relationship has gone through bad times.
“But if you can survive them, you’ll have an even deeper connection. What’s more important, chemistry or friendship? You have to have both, without allowing one to get stronger than the other. It’s all about keeping that balance.”
Seemingly the balance is back.
Your say: Do you think Will and Jada’s children have become famous too young? Should they hold-off on their singing and acting careers until they’re older?
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