The way they were. Will Smith and his ex-wife, Sheree Zampino, are proof that it’s possible to stay friendly post-split — but it isn’t always easy.
The former couple, who share son Trey, were married for three years before calling it quits in 1995. Smith went on to tie the knot with Jada Pinkett Smith two years later. During a May 2018 episode of Red Table Talk, the two women opened up about how their own relationship has changed over the years.
“Because I did not understand marriage, I did not understand divorce, I probably should have fell back,” Pinkett Smith said of her early romance with the Oscar winner. “[Will] was ‘div.’ The ‘orced’ hadn’t happened yet.”
Smith appeared on his wife’s talk show five months later, reflecting on how he and Zampino met. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum visited the set of A Different World in 1991 with the intention of meeting Pinkett Smith, who was starring on the series at the time. However, Zampino caught his eye in the audience.
“The dude that was going to introduce me to Jada was with another girl and I was like ‘Who is that?'” the Philadelphia native recalled in October 2018. “And it was Sheree. I went to Different World to meet Jada, and met Sheree and ended up marrying Sheree and having [my son] Trey with Sheree.”
The I Am Legend actor is also the father of son Jaden and daughter Willow, whom he shares with Pinkett Smith. In August 2022, Zampino opened up about the tougher parts of coparenting with her ex-husband and the Daytime Emmy winner.
“I’m not gonna say that it’s easy,” she said on the “Behind the Velvet Rope” podcast. “My heart is always for my child. My child comes first. He really does. … When you have a mutual respect, it becomes easier.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills personality continued, “With Jada, it was like, as long as she treats [Trey] well, we’re good. We’re good. And she’s treated him well and she’s loved him. … You got three different dynamics, three different personalities and different belief systems, different way of doing things. And there were times we have bumped heads and it hasn’t been pretty. But listen, we get back on that horse and we press on. We do what we have to do because again, at the end of the day, it’s about the kids.”
Thank You!
You have successfully subscribed.
While the blended family has done their best to stay cordial through the years, Zampino doesn’t always love being branded as Smith’s former spouse. “It could be worse. I could be connected to Charles Manson,” she quipped to Entertainment Tonight in November 2020. “You know, it’s not my label, and I can’t control the labels that other people put on me. But the reality is, that is a part of my history. But I’m not behind anybody. I’m not in anybody’s shadow.”
Scroll down for a look at Smith and Zampino’s relationship timeline:
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tr%2FMmp6aspmjsm%2BvzqZmnJ2cmq%2BztdOyZKedp6h8sbXCrayrnaNkxKq4y2aqpqGknXqmxIywoJ%2BdXai1pr7EnmSzmZ2ltq%2B70mapnqSRqbawutKhoKllpJ66prjIp5xo