Jada Pinkett Smith ‘shocked’ Will Smith called her ‘wife’ at Oscars: He hasn’t said that in years

Will Smith famously defended his “wife” Jada Pinkett Smith at the 2022 Oscars when presenter Chris Rock made fun of her bald head.

Behind the scenes, however, the “Girls Trip” star, 52, was stunned by Will, 55, calling her his spouse so publicly.

In a clip from Jada’s upcoming NBC News special with Hoda Kotb airing on Oct. 13, she revealed that she and the “Bad Boys” actor hadn’t labeled each other as “husband” and “wife” in a while.

“First of all, I’m really shocked, because mind you, I’m not there. We haven’t called each other husband and wife in a long time,” she told Kotb.

Will screamed from his seat at the Academy Awards last year when the comedian, 57, called Jada “G.I. Jane,” yelling: “Keep my wife’s name out your f–king mouth!”

Jada then rolled her eyes at Rock’s remark and recalled to Kotb: “I did that eye roll not so much for me — and I think this is really important — but the fact that there could be a jab at alopecia.” 

Jada suffers from the hair loss condition, alopecia, and thus her head was shaved at the awards ceremony as part of her look.

She added that she was very confused at the time, saying: “I’m really worried for Will because I don’t know what’s going on.” 

Earlier this week, the Baltimore native confessed that she and the “King Richard” actor have been living “completely separate lives” since 2016.

The couple married in 1997 and share kids, Jaden, 25, Willow, 22, and Trey, 30. (Will welcomed son Trey, 30, with ex wife Sheree Zampino.)

Jada then explained to the “Today” show host why she decided not to unleash the news to the public until now, noting that they weren’t “ready yet.”

“Still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership. … In regards to, how do we present that to people? We hadn’t figured that out,” Jada said. 

As the years went by, she and Will were “both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.”

The “Set It Off” alum then claimed that their marriage was “fractured,” and by the time 2016 rolled around, they “were just exhausted with trying.”

“I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through … whatever. I just haven’t been able to break that promise,” she told Kotb. 

While Jada and the “Summertime” singer have been separated, they won’t be divorcing anytime soon.