On the latest episode of Facebook Watch’s “Red Table Talk,” host Jada Pinkett Smith got transparent about her non-tactile relationship with her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, noting that her mom “never cuddled with me.”
In the Wednesday, May 25, episode titled “How Destructive Mothers Damage Their Daughters: Could This Be You?” Banfield-Norris admitted. “One of the things that was so missing in my relationship with my mother and with Jada was just touch.”
Pinkett Smith confirmed the admission with author Kelly McDaniel, who joined the two ladies to promote her book “Mother Hunger,” that “cuddles” were not common in their household.
“Very rarely will you see Jada and I even touch, hug,” Banfield-Norris continued. “It’s awkward because we didn’t hug in our family. We knew we were loved, but it just wasn’t that kind of nurturing touch.”
However, when it came to her grandchildren, Banfield-Norris was more affectionate towards them. Pinkett Smith added, looking at her daughter Willow, “She never cuddled with me.”
Banfield-Norris, affectionately called “Gammy” shared that she does harbor some regret in not establishing a closer bond with her daughter but believes she has made up for it in how she interacts with her grandchildren.
“It felt so good to be able to have that, and I never had it,” she said while looking at Willow, “When I had it with you, then I missed it with Jada. I realized how much I miss with her.”
In another clip, the “Girls Trip” star said she dealt with a lot of adult stress growing up which made her look at emotions as a sign of weakness. Still she described herself as a “terrified little girl.”
“I had to, like, deal with a lot of stressful adult things at a young age. I didn’t have the ability to deal with the emotions that were coming with it. I just had to buck up,” she explained. “So those women you see that you think are so strong, there’s this terrified little girl underneath. And that’s me,” she added.
Fans quickly reacted to the clip, many of whom sympathized with Pinkett Smith, including one Instagram user who wrote, “First I laughed. Then I realized my parents did the same thing. Never told me they loved me or anything.. it can mess with your intimate relationships. And it has. Affection is a difficult thing for me and I don’t know why.”
“I can relate that’s why I’m the opposite with my daughter,” added another.
