Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith come together in grief as they lose beloved member of family

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have had an upsetting start to the year, following the loss of a beloved member of their family. 

The former celebrity couple are both grieving the death of their four-legged friend Fang, who passed away on Tuesday January 23. 

Jada took to Instagram the following morning to pay tribute to Fang, alongside a series of photos of their pet dog over the years. 

She wrote: "Last night we lost one of our furry sons Fang. He brought so much love into our family, our animal pack and community. Thank you Fang for 15 years of pure joy. We are going to miss you soooooo much." 

While Will and Jada are no longer living together, the former couple have remained good friends. 

Last year, Jada made the bombshell revelation that the couple had been living apart since 2016. 

Chatting on NBC News, the Red Table Talks star said: "By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying ... I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce." 

© Instagram

Will and Jada have continued to make red carpet appearances and social media posts together in the seven years since, and have never hinted at a split but Jada explained it was because they are "just not ready yet". 

"[We're] still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership, right… how do we present that to people, you know? And we hadn't figured that out," she admitted. 

© Getty Images

The couple are doting parents to grown-up children, Jaden, 25, and Willow, 23. Will is also father to 31-year-old Trey Smith, who he shares with ex-wife Sheree Zampino. 

In the wake of Jada's revelation about her marriage woes with Will, she has maintained that the two have no plans of divorcing. "We really have been working hard," she told Hoda Kotb during an interview on the Today Show, adding: "We are working very hard at bringing our relationship back together."

© Getty Images

She further explained: "I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through whatever. And I just haven't been able to break that promise." 

In a separate interview with People, she also shared: "We're still figuring it out," adding: "We've been doing some really heavy-duty work together." She declared: "We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us."

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