Jada Pinkett Smith has claimed that she once turned Chris Rock down when he asked her out on a date.

The Girls Trip actress, 52, and Men In Black star Smith, 55, have married since 1997 and share two grown up children together – son Jaden, 25, and daughter Willow, 22.

On Wednesday, she revealed that she and Smith have been secretly separated for seven years.

Prior to this, there had long been speculation about the state of their marriage, with Pinkett Smith previously denying reports that they were in an open relationship.

Smith infamously slapped Rock, 58, at the 2022 Oscars after the comedian made a joke about Pinkett Smith’s hairloss, however Rock allegedly made a move on Pinkett Smith long before the event.

Speaking to People, she explained: “I think every summer all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting a divorce. And this particular summer, Chris, he thought that we were getting a divorce.

“So he called me and basically he was like, ‘I’d love to take you out.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He was like, ‘Well, aren’t you and Will getting a divorce?’ I was like, ‘No. Chris, those are just rumours.’

“He was appalled. And he profusely apologised and that was that.”

The Standard has contacted a representative for Chris Rock for comment.

Reflecting on Smith hitting Rock, she admitted that at first thought it was “a skit”.

“I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him,” she recalled to the publication.

“It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realised it wasn’t a skit.”

She added that the first words she uttered to husband once they were alone after the show were: “Are you OK?”