Jada Pinkett-Smith Reveals Past Struggle with Addiction

With age, comes wisdom.

Jada Pinkett Smith seems to be a prime example of the adage.

The actress and mother turned 42 last week and shared her thoughts about getting older on her Facebook account.

The generally candid star revealed that throughout the years she's had her fair share of struggles and has even suffered from "many addictions, of several kinds."

“What I learned about myself is this, when I was younger I was not a good problem solver, meaning I had a very difficult time with dealing with my problems in life,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “I had many addictions, of several kinds, to deal with my life issues, but today, at 42, I have my wisdom, my heart and my conscience as the only tools to overcome life’s inevitable obstacles.”

Pinkett-Smith, who celebrated her birthday on Sept. 18, did not detail the nature of her addictions, but stressed that it was part of her past.

“I have become a good problem solver with those tools, and I am damn proud,” she continued. “Thank you for all the love that was given to me for my birthday this year. What I hope is that we all continue to gain healthy understanding that life is really about, solving problems, and also about us learning to become masters at solving them.”

The post comes two days after Pinkett-Smith posted an equally revealing Facebook message about her stance on divorce, which she said was for “a dear friend” who had sought her advice. “For the past five years, I have been meeting with elders who have been married for 25+ years to get understanding from many perspectives as to what marriage and love is all about,” she wrote. “Almost all the couples have said that at some point in their marriage they have stumbled upon inevitably difficult moments that called for a break.”

For years, Pinkett-Smith and her husband, Will Smith, have dodged rumors of marital troubles and that they share an open marriage.

“My hope for you is this, that you consider taking the route that some of our elders have taken in giving your marriage some space and time before the drastic decision of divorce,” she continued. “Answers to big questions need time to find lasting truth vs the truth of the moment. After this process the answer may be the same, but at least you will have the clarity to go about it all with certainty and integrity, but you may also find that spark that could save and rekindle your marriage.”