Will Smith was the last guest on his wifeJada Pinkett-Smith ‘s show , Red Table Talk , where the couple starred in an emotional chat about parenthood in which the charismatic actor could not hold back his tears as he recalled his estrangement with his eldest son, Trey .
Trey is the product of the actor’s previous marriage to Sheree Zampino, and it was while talking about his relationship with his firstborn that Will Smith broke down in tears.
Fatherhood came when he was just 24, a moment he recalled with tears in his eyes: “I brought him home, we put him in the crib and I was absolutely terrified. I thought, I am totally responsible for this life. I couldn’t stop myself from going to check on him and making sure he was okay. I cried a lot, in fact, I’m crying now.”
The sudden fatherhood also brought on insecurities for the actor. “I was shocked at how fragile parenting is. I thought about the lessons I’d been taught and thought there was no way I could do it, that I’m not that good,” he added.
But Zampino and Smith’s marriage didn’t work out and they ended up divorcing when Trey was just two years old. After their separation, the rapper watched his son grow up from a distance.
In fact, the actor confessed that the divorce from his son’s mother was “the biggest failure.” “I’ve been hurt a lot in my adult life, but I don’t think anything has affected me as much as divorcing the mother of my two-year-old son. I separated and found that if a man is not a great husband, he loses his parental rights,” he said.
Years later, Will Smith rebuilt his life with Jada and they had two children: Jaden and Willow. Today, together with Trey, they form one of the most beautiful families in the American star system .
This isn’t the first time the actor has spoken out about the ups and downs of his relationship with Trey . “It hasn’t always been this way between Trey and I. We fought for years after my divorce with his mother. He felt betrayed and abandoned. It’s a wild blessing to regain and restore a loving relationship with my precious son,” she said two years ago.