Jada’s remarks are important because, too often, we portray marriage and long-term relationships in unambiguous terms.

Popular culture tells us that romantic relationships are the hallmarks of a happy life: these life events are cast as achievements, and linear achievements at that (once the relationship/happiness starts, it never stops).

In reality, you can be happy or otherwise regardless of your relationship status. And even if you are in a happy long-term relationship or marriage, that union is bound to hit bumps along the road at some point.

The conversation Jada and Will have made public is powerful because it acknowledges those bumps. Life gets messy; relationships ebb and flow.

We know this, and yet we often pretend it’s not the case, which only adds pressure when couples run into inevitable problems.

True love is messy: Jada Pinkett Smith’s conversation about the realities of marriage is long overdue