Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith made a rare public appearance together on Saturday, their first joint outing in about 10 months, when the pair were photographed leaving Nobu in Malibu.
The couple, who have publicly described an arrangement in which they live separately while remaining legally married, were seen departing the restaurant and walking to the valet area before getting into a white Lamborghini. Photographs show Smith, 56, smiling and dressed casually in a white short‑sleeved shirt, khaki shorts and a white cap. Pinkett Smith, 53, wore a nude‑colored, strapless ensemble with a hood and open‑toed sandals and was photographed wearing sunglasses.
The outing follows several months of limited joint public appearances; the couple were last photographed together in November 2024 and last walked a red carpet together at the May 2024 premiere of Smith’s film Bad Boys: Ride or Die. They married in 1997 and are parents to two children, Jaden, 27, and Willow, 24.
In October 2023, Pinkett Smith told Today’s Hoda Kotb that she and Smith had been separated since 2016 but had not divorced. She said at the time, “By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.” Pinkett Smith also told Kotb she had made a personal pledge against pursuing a legal divorce, saying, “I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through whatever. And I just haven't been able to break that promise.” When Kotb asked whether they still lived separately, Pinkett Smith answered that they did.
People magazine reported in January that the couple were living their own lives but had not “completely severed ties,” and that they had maintained separate homes for years.
The public sighting comes amid renewed professional activity for both Smith and Pinkett Smith. Their entertainment company, Westbrook, this week signed a first‑look deal with Paramount to develop theatrical films, with two projects — Sugar Bandits, an adaptation of Chuck Hogan’s Devils in Exile, and Rabbit Hole, written by Jon Spaihts — already reported as in development. Paramount said the company would focus on large‑audience, franchise‑oriented films, and Variety reported that Westbrook will be headquartered on the Paramount lot.
The deal underscores a broader push to return Smith to major studio filmmaking after the 2022 Academy Awards incident in which he struck comedian Chris Rock during the ceremony. Smith has publicly apologized for the episode and has had a quieter period in Hollywood since then, though he starred in 2022’s Emancipation and in the commercially successful Bad Boys: Ride or Die in 2024. King Richard, released in 2021, earned Smith an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Smith has been increasing public engagements this year, including the launch of a UK tour and promotional materials posted online. A video released to promote his tour drew attention and criticism on social media, with some users asserting parts of the clip appeared to be digitally altered. The clip drew scrutiny for visual anomalies cited by viewers.
The status of the couple’s personal relationship has attracted sustained public interest since 2020, when Pinkett Smith addressed an “entanglement” with singer August Alsina on her Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk. Pinkett Smith said she and Smith were separated at the time of that relationship and discussed the matter publicly with Smith in a filmed conversation for the show.
Smith has occasionally spoken about his relationship with Pinkett Smith at film events. At a screening for Bad Boys: Ride or Die, he described her as a steady presence in his life, calling her “one of the most gangsta ride‑or‑dies I've ever had.”
Representatives for the couple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Westbrook‑Paramount deal places the pair back at the center of industry conversations about Smith’s cinematic return and Pinkett Smith’s producing role, and the Saturday outing was the most recent public sign of the couple continuing to appear together in select settings while maintaining a private and complex domestic arrangement.