Jada Pinkett Smith on why she let Jaden move out at 15-years-old

Jada Pinkett Smith with her son Jaden. [Photo: Getty]
Jada Pinkett Smith with her son Jaden. [Photo: Getty]

Most parents deal with their children moving out when they head off for university at age 18.

And while seeing their children fly the nest so young is often heartbreaking for parents, Jada Pinkett Smith had to go through the ordeal far earlier.

First off, if you haven’t heard of Jada’s show Red Table Talk’ – get acquainted.

In the Facebook Watch show, three generations of women including the 46-year old, her daughter Willow, and her mother Adrienne sit down to chat about all the deep issues and it’s truly great.

On Monday’s episode, the ladies sat down with a guest addition to the show, Jaden Smith, to talk about family life.

In the show, Jada opens up about the “heartbreaking moment” her son Jaden asked for emancipation at just 15-years-old.

“One thing that I’ve learned, though, is that every child needs something different. At 15 years old, Jaden ― and I remember this day specifically ― it’s probably one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life,” Jada said.

“You got to a point where you told me straight up, you were like, ‘Mom, I have to leave here to live my life.’”

Jada added: “I remember thinking to myself, as devastated as I was, I was like, he’s right. The time is now. He’s 15. It’s time for him to leave the house.”

Will Smith and the rest of the the Smith family. [Photo: Getty]
Will Smith and the rest of the the Smith family. [Photo: Getty]

Will Smith’s other half said she had often thought Jaden, now 19-years-old, might choose to move out at a young age and recalled telling her actor husband that they would be “lucky” to have him stay until 16.

“Being in this lifestyle, in this world is a bubble and he wanted out,” Jada said to her mother, Adrienne. “I understood that because I didn’t have the bubble. I knew what having my freedom outside the bubble, what I gained from that. I knew the sooner I let him go, the faster he was going to come back.”

When the mic went to Jaden he explained that he wanted to leave so that he would better appreciate his time with his family.

When rumours of Jaden emancipation first emerged in 2013, Jaden quashed them in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres.

On her show, he told the host: “The thing that people don’t get is everything at this house is free! So I can get anything and everything at his house, so I’m going to be there 20, 30 more years.”

However, Jaden didn’t move far from his Calabasas family home, moving just around the corner into a $4 million home in Hidden Hills, still part of the same Californian city.

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