After a shocking reveal from August Alsina put her business on front street, Jada Pinkett Smith has pulled up a chair to the red table to share her side of the story — but honestly, the conversation that followed was pretty weird.
Last week, Alsina sat down with The Breakfast Club’s Angela Yee to discuss his life and his career. The interview touched on everything from his long term health issues to his complicated family dynamic, but it was the singer’s intimation of a romantic relationship with mentor and close friend Pinkett Smith that took the internet by storm. The stars met in 2015, but their personal connection evolved to be something much deeper, a bond that Alsina claimed was so deep that he could die happy with the knowledge of his love for her.
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The Smiths were quick to deny the details of his story, but on today’s surprise episode of Facebook Watch series The Red Table Talk, almost everything that Alsina said was confirmed — sort of.
Will and Jada began by saying that they never had any intention of addressing the story because 1) it was an issue of the past and 2) it's truly none of our business. But they decided to clear the air because of how big the situation had gotten.
"That is something that I would usually would never comment on at all," explained Jada. "It's a situation that I would consider private — it's nobody's business."
So here's the rundown: After years of marriage, the Smiths had reached a major roadblock in their relationship. Tensions ran so high between the spouses that they decided to take a break from being together. And it wasn't the kind of break you bounce back from; at that point, Will and Jada were fairly certain that they'd come to the end of the road.
That's where Alsina comes in. As the R&B singer got closer to Jada, their relationship got deeper, transforming into something that she kept referring to as an "entanglement." Prodding from her husband revealed that what Jada actually meant was that she and Alsina definitely dated on the low. For the HawthoRNe actress, being with Alsina was something that made her feel good in the aftermath of her breakup from Will. Plus, the younger man needed emotional support, and she was able to provide that for him.
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Unfortunately, no entanglement (whatever that means) is meant to last forever, and it wasn't long before Will and Jada reunited as life partners, leaving Alsina in the cold. Their decision to get back together estranged them from the singer, who cut Jada out of his life entirely. That's why the pair is so surprised that he's speaking so openly about what transpired — they're not even talking anymore.
"It's weird that all of this stuff is coming out now," Jada said. "Because this was years ago."
"That's why 'why now' is confusing," added her husband.
Except...it's not. To be fair, none of this is any of our business. What Will and Jada do behind closed doors or with other people has absolutely nothing to do with any of us. But, as we saw in Alsina's interview, his decision to speak on his experience with the couple was for the sake of his mental health. The star had suffered many traumas over the course of his life — including the death of his sister as well as a chronic illness that has stalled his singing career — and his separation from Jada was the tip of the iceberg. Talking about that pain, for Alsina, was a cathartic release so that he could go on living his life.
"I don't think it's important for people to know what I do, who I sleep with, who I date, but in this instance, there have been so many people side-eyeing me and questioning me about it," he told Yee. "I've lost money, friendships, and relationship behind this."
"When something starts affecting my life, my wellness, my well-being, and starts to block my heart, I don't really have a choice but to express my truth."
As incomplete as both sides of this story are — just how deep was said "entanglement?" What did Will mean when he said he was going to get Jada back? And why wasn't August invited back to the table? — these two seem pretty determined to keep its full scope to themselves, which is absolutely their right. Still, something about this whole thing just feels weird, and I can't exactly put my finger on what it is.