Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's separation seven years ago isn't the full story – or in this case, memoir.

Although the couple had kept their 2016 split private – Smith kissed Pinkett Smith's face at movie premieres and appeared on her intimate Facebook Watch series "Red Table Talk," where they once vowed "bad marriage for life" – the actress writes openly of their estrangement in her memoir, "Worthy" (Dey Street Books, out Tuesday), and their decision not to divorce. The two are redefining marriage in a way reminiscent of when Gwyneth Paltrow thrust "conscious uncoupling" into the public consciousness.

"It's actually been really beautiful," says Pinkett Smith, 52. "Really intense circumstances can amplify love, or they can take you in the other direction and really deteriorate it. We've taken advantage of learning how to amplify it."

Pinkett Smith says becoming emotionally independent was a big lesson for her. "And now we're learning that emotional interdependence. It's a hell of a rugged journey, let me tell you. Learning how to love yourself and learning how to love somebody else when they're next to you, it's not for the faint at heart. It just is not. But it's been a beautiful journey. All of it."