The Sad Reality Of Duane Martin's Life After His Divorce From Tisha Campbell
For nearly three decades, Duane Martin and Tisha Campbell were one of Hollywood's most cherished couples. The pair had been married since 1996 and had two kids together before Campbell announced in 2018 that they were officially separating. "After 27 years of being together and two amazing children, it pains me to announce that I've filed for divorce," she said in a statement on Twitter. Although the news came as a shock to many, a source close to the situation told People that the split was a long time coming, as Martin and Campbell had been on the rocks for quite some time. "It just got to the breaking point recently," the insider claimed. "It's one of those things where they've been talking about it and fighting it out and trying to come to a conscious uncoupling."
Two years after their divorce was finalized in 2020, the "Martin" star opened up about the heartbreaking experience in an interview on Hot 97's "Ebro in the Morning," revealing that she went through the five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance — during the breakup process. "It was complete devastation," Campbell confessed. "It was disbelief, it was anger at times ... Then there was more than acceptance." She further explained, "It was acceptance of myself ... [That] I'm stronger than I really knew, and it was getting rid of any baggage, setting boundaries for myself." As for Martin, things were certainly no better for the actor in the years after their painful split.
Duane Martin was involved in a scandal
Three years after his divorce from Tisha Campbell, Duane Martin suddenly found himself in the middle of a major and nasty scandal when a former assistant of his friend and acting peer, Will Smith, claimed that the two had a sexual relationship. The assistant, Brother Bilaal, alleged that he once walked in on Duane and Will having anal sex during an explosive interview with blogger Tasha K on her podcast. "I opened the door to Duane's dressing room and that's when I see Duane having anal sex with Will," he claimed. "There was a couch and Will was bent over the couch and Duane was standing up, killing him. Like murder. It was murder in there." He also alleged that Will tried to get him to sign an NDA but he refused. "I didn't sign the papers. I didn't talk to Will. I went to go stay with one of my friends and I just disappeared."
Reacting to the interview, Will's camp denied the allegations and called Bilaal's story "completely fabricated" and "unequivocally false." Meanwhile, Will's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, also brushed off the claims in an interview with Power 105.1's "The Breakfast Club." "It's ridiculous, right? And it's nonsense," she said. Alleging that the interview is a "shakedown," or an extortion attempt against her husband, Jada said that she and Will are planning to take legal action against Bilaal. "Because it's one thing to have your opinion about somebody, versus just making up salacious, malicious stories," she said. "So we 'gon roll with that."
Duane was seen for the first time after the shocking interview
As for Duane Martin, the "All of Us" star has mostly kept his lips sealed regarding the rumors surrounding him and Will Smith. Previously, a source close to Martin told TMZ that the actor does not intend to break his silence and publicly respond to Brother Bilaal's claims, simply because his "allegations are so ridiculous." Since Bilaal's viral interview with Tasha K, Martin has been seen for the first time in public when he stepped out in Westlake Village, California carrying a huge load of his dirty laundry. (The jokes write themselves.) As seen above, Martin looked visibly anxious and weary as he walked around wearing a gray athletic top, blue shorts and matching compression leggings. He was later photographed stopping at a gas station while sporting a beige beanie in photos published by The U.S. Sun.
As the Daily Mail notes, this isn't the first time that rumors have circulated surrounding the true nature of Martin and Smith's relationship. Back in 2012, Star Magazine also published a cover story hinting at a secret romance between the actors, who have known each other since they worked together on "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" early in the 1990s. At the time, Duane's then-wife, Tisha Campbell, took to social media to slam the rumors and defend Will and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), "Usually I ignore negativity but I'm tired of the media attacking TheSmiths. They're n amazing couple n I wish ppl wld stop perpetuatin LIES... N LEAVE THEM ALONE!"