Since Will Smith's Oscar slap controversy, his marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith has been under public scrutiny more than ever. Recently, fans found a video where she was "using him for clout," adding to the scandalous cheating incident that might have led to Chris Rock getting slapped.
As a result, everyone's digging into the couple's relationship history. We've previously discussed Smith's relationship with his ex-wife Sheree Zampino and his wife's past relationships with Wesley Snipes, Grant Hill, and Tupac Shakur. Now, we'll be taking a look at the Oscar winner's brief romance with Tyra Banks in the '90s.
How Did Tyra Banks & Will Smith Meet?
Banks met Smith when she landed a guest role in his hit sitcom, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She played his ex-girlfriend Jackie from Philly. She first appeared on the show in season 4 and ended up being in eight episodes. It was actually the supermodel's first acting gig. In 2020, she recalled "feeling so dumb" during the auditions. "So I, like, put on, like, basketball shorts and, like, a big, huge T-shirt," she said of auditioning for her character who played basketball. "You know, just kind of like a basketball girl. I walked in kind of around the way, no makeup."
When Banks arrived at her audition, all the other actresses were in nice dresses and heels. "And then in the audition room, there's, like, a line of chairs and there's all of these actresses. And I swear everybody had on a little black dress and black heels and just looking gorgeous and face done," she recounted. "And I'm like, 'Oh, you're not supposed to dress like the character, you're supposed to, like, be pretty, and then they put the character on you later.' I was sitting there feeling so dumb."
It worked for her anyway as the casting director asked her to return for another audition. "So then hours later [I] go back and then Will Smith is in the room," said Banks. "And I read with him, didn't know what the hell I was doing. Just trying to read the thing and just be as natural as possible." The America's Next Top Model host developed a friendship with Smith that eventually grew into something more in 1993. They dated for a year until 1994. According to reports, things "never got serious" between them.
Are Tyra Banks & Will Smith Still Friends Today?
Banks and Smith have remained friends through the years. In 2019, the model posted a throwback photo of them together from a scene in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. "Happy Birdhat," she captioned it — intentionally misspelling the word birthday and referencing an inside joke about an actual feathered hat that Banks wore on the show.
In 2020, Smith posted an Instagram video of them revisiting their heated scene from season 4 episode All Guts, No Glory. "This next piece is one of my favorite moments. I love that we did that," Smith said in the video. Banks impressed viewers when she recited her lines verbatim. "Yo it's 30 YEARS LATER and @tyrabanks still has this scene memorized!! Love that!" the actor wrote in the caption.
Who Is Tyra Banks Dating Now?
Banks has been dating Canadian businessman, Louis Bélanger-Martin since 2018. A source said that they're "very much in love" and that they get along with each other's sons with their previous partners. "Tyra's child has his own room at Louis [and] Valerie's [Bélanger-Martin's ex-wife] house in Magog and Tyra moved some of her stuff—clothes, jewelry—there too." Banks has also maintained a good co-parenting relationship with her baby daddy, Erik Asla.
Banks first met Asla when he was working for Norway's Next Top Model. They officially confirmed their relationship later in 2015. A year later, after a series of "traumatizing" IVF procedures, they welcomed a baby boy named York Banks Asla. "The journey to now has not been an easy process, as I’ve shared before," the Coyote Ugly star told People at the time. "But there was a beautiful bright light at the end of the tunnel for me and his father, Erik."
The couple reportedly had an amicable split in 2017. There were rumors about Asla cheating on Banks, but neither has said anything about it. "It came drama-free and they're co-parenting their young son," a source said of their breakup back then. "He is slated to shoot the photos for the opening credits of the upcoming America's Next Top Model."
