Open Marriages: Hollywood’s Worst Kept Secret?

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith

As the textbook couple for open marriages, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith have been vividly open about the contents of their honest and trusting marriage. When Pinkett-Smith went on record stating that “Will is his own man” and that she is just his partner in life, it was clear that Will dabbled in the occasional outside fling.

However, after realizing the one-way picture she painted for the press, she issued a Facebook post statement claiming that they both “can do whatever they want” and referred to the relationship not as an open marriage, but a “grown” one. Considering the two are both successful, talented and attractive, we’re curious how often external competition arises in the marriage.

Shirley MacLaine and Steve Parker

For such an early period, it was almost unheard of for couples to have open marriages but Shirley and Steve were ahead of their time in many ways. With Parker stationed in Tokyo while MacLaine lit up the Hollywood nights on screen, the two would spend time together minimally traveling and enjoyed being best friends before anything else.

In an interview with People, MacLaine opened up about their arrangement, although the couple split in 1982. Still referring to Steve as the “love of her life,” Shirley simply stated “No one understood it, we did. He lived in Japan basically, I lived in America working, and this and that. We’d meet up, always great friends, traveled sometimes together.”