While Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith have been estranged for almost a decade in what has been pegged as a ‘bizarre marriage arrangement’, last week the pair were photographed leaving the swanky Nobu restaurant in Malibu together, with Will spotted chivalrously holding Jada’s purse as they made their way to their car. 

Their date is the first time the famous duo – who share son Jayden, 27, and daughter Willow, 24 – have been spotted together in ten months, after enjoying another cosy date night last November. 

Now, a source tells Closer that Will, 56, and Jada, 53, are now living together again, after the former Red Table Talk host moved back into their former family home, a sprawling $56 million Calabasas compound. 

The insider says, ‘Jada recently moved back into the main property, even though she’s kept hold of her other home [an $11.3 million mansion in the Hidden Hills]. They’re taking things day by day but getting along a whole lot better, which the kids are so happy to see.’

However, with predictions for the 2026 Oscars already swirling, for many it’s still difficult to forget Will’s now infamous attack on comedian Chris Rock – an event that caused shockwaves through the 2022 awards and cast a shadow over the prestigious ceremony for years to come. 

And for Will, the now-dubbed ‘slapgate’ served as the grim reaper for his reputation in Hollywood, and the fallout of the attack on his personal life has been shattering for tinsel town’s action star. 

Just a year after the event, Jada confirmed the rumours that she and Will had been living ‘completely separate lives’ since 2016, despite remaining legally married.

Now, following their reunion, it’s unclear what has shifted in their ‘agreement’ behind closed doors, but we recently reported that Will had been left feeling ‘lonely’ in recent years. 

A source told us last month, ‘Will is a lot more sensitive than people realise. He may seem like he’s shaken this off but this whole situation has really taken a toll on him. He has really struggled with feeling alone, and living in that massive house by himself most of the time hasn’t helped – he gets very lonely.’

And now the source explains why, after making the decision to split after 19 years of marriage, the couple have made the shock U-turn. 

The insider explains, ‘For all their troubles, Will and Jada are both in agreement that they’re stronger together, and neither of them has any interest in being serious with anyone else. Everyone knows they’ve both had plenty of other flirtations down the years but ultimately they’re still bound by family as well as business so it would be an almighty mess to throw in the towel and try to formally split their assets.  

‘But it’s more than just that. Will’s a proud guy and he adores Jada. He hates the idea of quitting on everything they’ve built together.’ 

However, while Will has rightfully come under criticism for Oscars slap, Jada has also been targeted by critics who have accused her of ‘controlling’ and ‘ruining’ Will after embarking on an ‘entanglement’ with one her son’s friends, rapper August Alsina – who is 20 years her junior – back in 2016. 

And now our source says friends are urging Will to tread carefully as they warn the Oscar-winner that Jada has got a long history of reeling him back in as they fear he could regret their reunion and be left broken-hearted. 

‘Those close to Will believe his intentions are clearly honourable, but a lot of people still think Jada’s taking him for an almighty ride. They’ve seen this all before and it only seems to end one way, which never seems to favour Will,’ the insider says.

‘Will himself admits it hasn’t always been smooth sailing but he’s told friends that makes it even more meaningful for him, because through it all, neither of them has quit on each other.’ 

Speaking of their separation back in 2023, Jada said, ‘This whole journey, as difficult as it’s been, has just brought me and Will closer together in such an authentic way’. 

Will, too, has spoken candidly about their relationship journey, celebrating their 20thanniversary in 2017 with a poignant post on social media. 

He wrote at the time, ‘Love is Like Gardening. I have learned to focus on HELPING you to BLOSSOM into what YOU want to be (into what you were born to be)… Rather than Demanding that you become what my Fragile Ego needs you to be.’ 

And now the source says that Will is adamant that their distance has only made them stronger. 

‘There’s no doubt Will would have loved to have a more traditional marriage with Jada, but he insists all the time apart has actually been very healing for them, both as individuals and as a couple, so he’s really gung-ho about their chances,’ the insider says. 

‘He’s bragging that they’re stronger than ever and that they’ve hacked the marriage algorithm because even after all this time and all that they’ve been through, they’re still together.’ 

However, the source says that ‘plenty of cynical people’ in Hollywood are also sceptical as they insist that a reunion also makes more sense financially than an official divorce. 

They add, ‘A lot of people are convinced this reconciliation is mostly about protecting their joint empire. Fact is, their marriage has been a huge part of their brand for decades, Will is stronger with Jada by his side. Not to mention the nightmare it would be to disentangle themselves from all their various shared interests from the properties to the production company to the myriad of investments. It’s guaranteed to cost a fortune in legal bills, not to mention a storm of bad press.’

In March, after a 20-year break from music, Will also released his latest album, ‘Based on a True Story’, which music bible Rolling Stone magazine described as ‘clunky and sullied by the fallout of the 2022 Oscars’.

It’s clear that #slapgate has left a bitter aftertaste for fans, with just 268 fans buying Will’s album in the UK within the first week after it failed to even reach the top 200 in the US Billboard charts.

And while Will still boasts an estimated $350 million net worth, he and Jada have been selling off some of their extensive property portfolio to scale back on their expenses.

In April the former couple listed their Woodland Hills LA home for $2 million – just $500,000 over their initial 2010 purchase price. They sold their Baltimore base for $795,000 last year and previously sold their $12 million beachfront Hawaii pad.  

But the sources says Will and Jada are determined to prove their ‘haters’ are wrong, with Jada’s pals in particular insisting their reunion is for all of the right reasons. 

‘Of course they both scoff at that ‘conspiracy theory’ and say life is way too short to live some sort of lie just to pile up the zeroes on their bank balances,’ the insider says.

‘And in fairness, Jada is known to be an extremely authentic person. When she and Will were secretly living apart it was agony for her trying to keep up the facade, that’s why she eventually had to come clean publicly. 

They continue, ‘Now her closest friends are all defending her and saying Jada genuinely wants to give things with Will another chance. They both say they’re going into this with every intention of making it last, but really only time is going to tell if they’re sincere, or if they can even pull this off.’