Will Smith admitted he ‘fell in love’ with co-star shortly after beginning his first marriage

The actor made the confession in his 2021 memoir

Will Smith previously revealed that he ‘fell in love’ with another woman shortly after getting married.

The Men in Black star is well-known for his marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith, thanks to 2022’s Oscars slapgate and the infamous ‘entanglement’ interview which resulted in the viral ‘Will Smith crying’ meme.

However, a lot of people may not be aware that this wasn’t Smith’s first marriage – as he had previously tied the knot with actor, Sheree Zampino, in the early 90s.

Will Smith and Sheree Zampino were married between 1992 and 1995 (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection)

The couple would go on to welcome son Trey Smith together in 1992, so you’d think the new parents would be stronger than ever during this period. However, a revelation in Smith’s 2021 memoir Will revealed that things were a little more complicated behind-the-scenes for him at the time.

Due to the fact that he’d fallen for his Six Degrees of Separation co-star Stockard Channing (no, that isn’t her birth name) around this time.

“Sheree and I were in the first few months of our marriage with a brand-new baby and for Sheree, I can imagine that this experience was unsettling to say the least,” he wrote, according to an excerpt shared by PEOPLE.

Smith starred as con-artist Paul Poitier in the 1993 comedy-drama film, a role which he stayed in character for even after leaving the set – something which can’t of been easy for their budding marriage and parenthood.

He continued: “She’d married a guy named Will Smith and now she was living with a guy named Paul Poitier.”

The actor then made the revelation that he’d developed feelings for Channing – who played socialite Ouisa Kittredge and target of Paul’s schemes in the film – however, the relationship remained purely professional.

Explaining what went down, he wrote: “To make matters worse, during shooting I fell in love with Stockard Channing. After the film wrapped, Sheree and Trey and I moved back to LA. Our marriage was off to a rocky start. I found myself desperately yearning to see and speak to Stockard.”

Will Smith and Stockard Channing in Six Degrees of Separation (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Warner Bros)

This isn’t the first time Smith has been candid about the feelings he developed for Channing, having previously revealed the infatuation during a 2015 interview with Esquire, while discussing the dangers of method acting.

“That was my last experience with Method acting, where you’re reprogramming your mind,” he said of his time playing Paul Poitier.

Smith would later separate from Zampino in 1995 before going on to marry Jada two years later and welcoming two children together – a relationship which could definitely be characterised by the term ‘it’s complicated’.