Will Smith's ban from the Oscars will expire in 2032. Amid this, read on to know what went wrong in his marriage with Sheree Zampino.
The much-awaited award show, the Oscars 2026, is currently the talk of the town. While the countdown to the highly anticipated Oscars 2026 has already begun, attention has shifted to the list of banned actors who are not part of the prestigious awards show. One such actor is the King Richard fame, Will Smith. For the unversed, in 2022, the renowned actor was banned from the Oscars event due to a conflict with Chris Rock at the event.
On his personal front, Will has had a fair share of relationships. Currently, Will Smith is happily married to Jada Pinkett Smith. But before finding solace in Jada, the American actor was married to Sheree Zampino. The couple got married in their 20s and also shares a son named Trey Smith. But do you know Will accidentally met Sheree while he wanted to meet Jada, with whom he felt an instant connection after watching her on an episode of the late 80s TV sitcom, A Different World? Yes, you read it right. So, without further ado, let’s find out what really happened and what led to Will’s divorce from Sheree Zampino.
Will Smith felt an instant connection with the actress and his now-wife, Jada Pinkett, after watching her on an episode of the TV sitcom, A Different World. Thus, he arranged for a set visit through his Fresh Prince co-star, Alfonso Ribeiro. However, destiny had other plans for Will at the time. In 1991, he accidentally met Sheree Zampino, who had visited the sets of A Different World to meet her friend and show writer, Orlando Jones, who was supposed to introduce Will to Jada. Speaking about their first encounter, Sheree once told Hollywood Unlocked that the American actor ended up getting her number from a different acquaintance of Orlando, named Billy Sly. Eventually, they began dating.
In 1992, Will and Sheree tied the knot. In the same year, they welcomed their first child, a son named Trey Smith. However, there was trouble in Will and Sheree’s paradise after three years of marriage. It was Sheree who filed for divorce from her husband, Will, on Valentine's Day in 1995, claiming that she no longer loved him. By the end of 1995, the couple was officially divorced. In a 2016 Facebook video, Sheree got candid about what went wrong in her marriage with Will Smith. In the video, Sheree stated that their marriage didn’t work as they were too young. The duo tied the knot in their 20s. She was quoted as saying:
"Our marriage ended because we were so young. ... It's just a lot of responsibility. Marriage is not easy. Especially at that age."
In 2016, a video by Alexis Arquette went viral on social media, where she claimed that Will cheated on his wife, Sheree. In the video, Alexis alleged that Sheree caught Will with his then-manager, Benny Medina. In the clip, the actress also claimed that while filming Six Degrees of Separation, Will refused to do a kissing scene with another male actor. Refuting the claims, Sheree made a video on Facebook and clarified that infidelity was not a reason behind her divorce from Will. Sheree stated that she was unhappy in her marriage and thus they parted ways. Sheree was quoted as saying:
"Will was straight in 1992 and he's straight in 2016. I left because I was unhappy; it's really that simple."
In a 2016 Facebook video, Sheree revealed that Will Smith’s super stardom was one of the reasons behind their split. She explained that while Will was becoming bigger in his career, she felt smaller. She said, "Will was becoming bigger and bigger with his career. I'm becoming smaller and smaller and smaller and ... we didn't have the tools to make it work." Later, in an interview with Hollywood Unlocked, she elaborated on the following. Sheree said:
"I think at that point in time with Will's career taking off — to start now making movies, of course he had the TV show, the rapping — he didn't have the capacity to give me what I needed. ... I didn't feel like a team."
What are your thoughts on Will Smith and Shree Zampino's failed relationship? Let us know.
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