Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are still living independently but their lives remain interconnected, according to a source close to the married stars.
“Call it what you want. They are living their own lives but haven’t completely severed ties,” one source tells PEOPLE.
Another source says Will, 56, and Jada, 53, “are still together,” but as far as cohabiting, they “have had separate homes for years.”
Married since 1997, Will and Jada separated in 2016, the Girls Trip actress revealed ahead of the release of her memoir Worthy in 2023. “We’re still figuring it out,” she told PEOPLE at the time.
“We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together. We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us,” she added. “I’m going to be by his side … but also allow him to have to figure this out for himself.”
These days, “Will is busy with film and music and doing okay,” the first source tells PEOPLE. The producer-actor “is a bit disillusioned with Hollywood but that could all change with some new success,” the source adds. He and Big Sean released a Matrix-inspired music video for their song “Beautiful Scars” on Jan. 30.
In interviews, Will and Jada have offered glimpses of their relationship since their 2016 separation. On an episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty in 2023, Jada revealed that “there have been several breakups between Will and I” over the course of their marriage.
In his 2021 memoir Will, the Men in Black star described moments in the pair’s marriage when they were “both miserable and clearly something had to change. … We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way.”
Will and Jada have kids Jaden, 26, and Willow, 24, as well as Trey, 32, whom Will shares with ex-wife Sheree Zampino. The family, including Jada’s mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris, last appeared on the red carpet together at the May 2024 premiere of Will’s movie Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
In December 2024, a source told PEOPLE that Will and Jada spent Thanksgiving together in a large gathering of family and friends. “Everyone was in wonderful and very grateful spirits,” said the insider.
