August Alsina says he had to speak out about Jada Pinkett Smith relationship

August Alsina has revealed why he decided to go public with his and Jada Pinkett's Smith's relationship, after years of keeping it a secret.

In an interview with People magazine for its latest issue, August Alsina called himself a "private person" and said the only reason he could no longer remain silent about his previous relationship with Jada Pinkett Smith was that it was affecting his work.

"I really am a private person. People have never known much about my love life because it's not important," the rapper insisted, adding that he decided to break his silence after the rumours about their affair started to affect his career.

"I never really cared about what people thought of me, but my personal life started to seep into my business life. There were certain falsities about me, and it affected my business relationships. I could understand why it would look like I'm reckless or disrespectful so it really started to affect my livelihood, and I'm never okay with that," the 27-year-old said.

The R&B singer said that he had to focus on his profession also because of his three nieces- Chaylin, 14, Amaiya, 13, and Kayden, 11. Alsina became a legal guardian to the three children, whom he affectionately calls "naughters," after the death of their parents. While their father, Alsina's older brother Melvin, was shot to death in New Orleans in 2010, their mother Chandra lost her life to cancer on Christmas Day in 2018.

"I got three kids to look after. Kill me, hate me, stone me, but bury me an honest man. All I can do is tell the truth," the musician said.

Alsina first met Jada Pinkett in 2015, when she was privately separated from her husband Will Smith, at her children Jaden and Willow's concert in London. The duo struck a friendship, which turned romantic as the actress helped him recover from his addiction to painkillers.

While the "Girls Trip" actress reunited with her husband, Alsina kept quiet about their relationship until a few months ago, when he told radio host Angela Yee that he "truly and really, really, deeply loved" her. Alsina also said that he took Will Smith's blessings before carrying out an extra-marital affair with his wife, which created a storm raising speculations about Will and Jada being in an open marriage.

The couple of 13 years eventually came forward to address the controversy, and Jada admitted to the affair on her Facebook Watch "Red Table Talk" calling her association with Alisina an "entanglement" before confessing it was a relationship.

"The only person that can give permission in that particular circumstance is myself. I could actually see how he would perceive it as permission because we were separated amicably and I think he also wanted to make it clear that he's also not a home-wrecker. Which he's not," the 48-year-old clarified.

Despite the recent drama, Alsina said in his latest interview that he doesn't see his relationship with the Smiths as broken. "It's just a part of life, and it's a part of the journey. There's a lot of love there. Sometimes truth is complicated and difficult. But (my relationship with them isn't) broken at all," the "No Love" rapper said.