Will and Jada Pinkett Smith
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have been married an eternity according to Hollywood's standards, but that doesn't mean that they are not subjected to the rumor mill. Reuters

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith recently talked about her marriage to Will Smith and addressed the long-standing rumor that they have an open marriage.

“No, I think people get that idea because Will and I are very relaxed with one another,” the 41-year-old actress said in an interview with HuffPost Live.

(View video here.)

They met in 1990 on the set of Smith's hit TV comedy, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” when she auditioned for the role of his girlfriend. They became friends and began dating in 1995. Two years later, they were married near her hometown of Baltimore.

Pinkett Smith said she has always told her husband, “You can do whatever you want as long as you can look at yourself in the mirror and be okay.”

Although they have a lifelong commitment to each another, “Will is his own man," she said. "I’m here as his partner, but he is his own man. He has to decide who he wants to be and that’s not for me to do for him. Or vice versa.”

The couple have long faced speculation about their marital arrangement, and some fans have wondered if they're swingers.

They have two children together, and Smith has a son from a previous relationship.

In the HuffPost Live interview, Pinkett Smith talked about the challenges of a long-term relationship. “I don’t think it’s easy to be married to anyone," she said. "I think that you have to go into a relationship knowing — especially when you’re dedicating to someone for the rest of your life — this is a life partnership.”

She added, “One thing is for sure: I love him deeply.”