Willow Smith Opens Up To Mum About Being Polyamorous
Published
Willow Smith has opened up to her mum Jada Pinkett Smith about being polyamorous.
In an episode of Red Table Talk, the 20-year-old explained to her mum and her grandma Adrienne Banfield-Norris why she was drawn to polyamory - whereby people consensually have more than one romantic partner at the same time.
The 'Whip My Hair' singer said: "With polyamory, I feel like the main foundation is the freedom to be able to create a relationship style that works for you and not just stepping into monogamy because that's what everyone around you says is the right thing to do.
"So I was like, 'How can I structure the way that I approach relationships with that in mind?' Also, doing research into polyamory, the main reason why divorces happen is infidelity."
She also claimed that assumptions that polyamorous people are driven purely by sexual desire are untrue.
She added: "Let's say you haven't always been the person wanting sex all the time, but your partner is. Are you going to be the person to say - just because I don't have these needs, you can't have them either?
"That's one of the reasons why I was interested in poly because I was introduced to it through kind of a nonsexual lens.
"In my friend group, I'm the only polyamorous person, and I have the least sex out of all my friends."
Willow's polyamorous outlook doesn't sit neatly with the traditional notion of marriage, but that's no skin off her nose, as she told her mum and grandma that marriage doesn't really sit well with her either.
She said: "The history of marriage really irks me.
"Just the history of marriage as a whole and what it has represented over the years, for women in particular.
"I feel like the only way that I would get married is - let's say me and my partner or partners wants to help people, and we need to put our finances together in order to make that vision happen.
"That's the only way I could see myself getting married."
Thankfully for Willow, she has a supportive and understanding mum in Jada.
Reflecting on when her daughter told her about her polyamory, the 49-year-old said: "I was like, 'I totally get it.'
"Wanting to set up your life in a way that you can have what it is that you want, I think that anything goes as long as the intentions are clear to everyone, more to yourself than anything.
"That's the only part about marriage today and monogamy today that I think is antiquated, that monogamy has to be your choice.
"It can't be because I'm told I'm supposed to do it this way. That, my dear, is deeply antiquated and no longer works."
