CELEBRITY

Will & Jada Smith Steady in Love

Contemporary Hollywood marriages barely last for a decade before the couple hits a rough patch and decides to call it quits. Beating all odds and rising above differences, Will and Jada have a unique take on what makes marriages work, have found marital bliss in a union unbridled by conventional diktats, becoming our favourite power celebrity couple for the strong united front they put up.

 The tall and gorgeous Will Smith and his petite, sultry go-getter Jada Pinkett Smith laid eyes on each other in 1990 for the first time. Now, 18 years, 2 children and immense professional success later, the love, affection and attention they show each other is still characteristic of newlyweds.

Jada Koren Pinkett was still a newbie in the industry when she met the pretty much established rapper turned actor Will Smith on the sets of his sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when she auditioned for the part of his girlfriend. Although she couldn’t bag the role, she did win Will’s attention and the two became good friends while Smith was still married to first wife, Sheree Zampino. When things began going downhill for Smith and Sheree and divorce played out on the cards in 1995, Will realised, in Jada, he had found the one who understood him at a completely different level, one who echoed his own thoughts and feelings, the two officially dated for a couple of years and tied the knot on December 31st 1997 in a ceremony at The Cloisters in Maryland, Baltimore. By this time, Jada was an established actress, having appeared in a number of movies including Menace II Society (1993), Jason’s Lyric (1994), The Nutty Professor (1996), and Scream 2 (1997). Will, too, had risen to stardom with his performances in Six Degrees Of Separation (1993), Bad Boys (1995), Men In Black (1997) and Independence Day (1996).

In an interview to an online site, Jada said, “After we had known each other for many years, we went out for dinner one night with mutual friends and I saw that he had grown from this lanky kid to this really responsible man. We started courting each other and our friendship turned into romance.”

Soon, the couple found themselves parents to son, Jaden Smith (born 1998) followed by daughter Willow born in 2000, along with son Trey from Will’s first marriage. The kids are following in their parents footsteps and have found careers in showbiz and the music industry. About their parenting style, the couple has maintained, “we're not strict but we definitely believe it's a very important component for rearing children. It creates safety for them. They understand that they need guidance.”

When it comes to their marriage, they believe in keeping things real. Will and Jada have worked out the formula for a happy, life-long marriage by removing divorce as an option completely. For Jada, when it comes to priorities, marriage can never take a backseat. "I will throw my career away before I let it break up our marriage. I made it clear to Will. I'd throw it away completely".

With news of theirs being an open marriage buzzing around, the smitten pair have often maintained they are comfortable with the other having an occasional fling, provided it is done with the spouse’s complete knowledge. Even then, rumours have often boiled up from their stance, but there have never been proofs of the couple straying. In 2013, Jada responded to open marriage rumours by saying, "“Will and I both can do whatever we want, because we trust each other to do so. This does not mean we have an open relationship, this means we have a grown one.”

Regularly battling speculations of divorce and separation, the two keep the fire burning by organising romantic date nights around the house.

According to Jada, “we have different places around our yard where we like to set up a little Arabian tent, pillows, wine and cheese, candlelight. Will likes really thought-out productions.”

About his wife, Will is always complimentary. Be it in his award acceptance speeches, the red carpet or just interviews to tabloids, Will is always praises. "She is just absolutely hardcore, like she absolutely is unfazed by the weight and the pressures of life," Will told People in 2012. "She is so calm and cool and easy in any situation. She can bear anything, and I just love that about her." At one point, Will maintained, "I don't let a day go past that Jada doesn't feel like the Queen of the World."

Along with their work in the movie and music industry, the two have also founded the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, a charity organization which focuses on inner-city youth and family support that works with other non-profit organizations as well.

What makes them different from the rest of the celebrity couples is not so much the tenure of their union, but their ideas. The two have a rock solid marriage - based on communication, love, trust and mutual respect.