Nia Long feels "bad" for Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith after the couple went public with their relationship troubles.
The high-profile duo recently confessed to having a brief split in their relationship, during which time Jada embarked on a romance with August Alsina – and Nia has now praised the pair for having the "courage" to be so open about their issues.
Nia – who starred alongside Will in ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ – said: "I feel bad for Will and Jada right now, because they’ve been extremely vulnerable with their personal story. And it takes a lot of courage to do that."
Jada discussed her romance with August during a ‘Red Table Talk’ episode, and Nia acknowledges that love is a "complicated thing".
The 49-year-old actress told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: "When you have a show like ‘Red Table Talk’, you want to be what you are sharing with the world, and that’s gotta be a tremendous amount of pressure.
"We all have our ups and downs with love. Love is a complicated thing."
Nia hailed Jada as "an icon in our community", adding that she hopes the public will "back off" the couple.
She continued: "I think any key to any relationship is, give your partner the room to be who he needs to be, who she needs to be, and if it means you’re taking a break to do that? Take the break!
"I know I sometimes just leave the house and I don’t tell anyone where I’m going and I’m like, OK guys I’ll be back. Because I’ve learned that if I don’t take care of myself first, nothing else in the house runs smoothly."