Jaden Smith Breaks Silence On Sofia Richie Relationship & Claims They ‘Love Each Other’

Jaden Smith revealed the truth about his relationship with model Sofia Richie, just six days after the longtime friends were seen holding hands at the beach!

Jaden Smith, 22, is shedding light on the true nature of his relationship with a newly single Sofia Richie, 22, after the duo appeared to have a flirty beach hangout on Sept. 5. The photos of their beach day — which included a picture of the rumored exes holding hands in the water — made headlines, and Jaden broke his silence on the buzz during the Sept. 11 episode of On Air with Ryan Seacrest. “You know, I actually don’t look at the internet, so I didn’t see that,” Jaden admitted.

However, the rapper-singer didn’t let the Internet speculate for too long. “But, me and Sofia have been friends for like 10 years. We’ve been going to the beach pretty consistently for 10 years too,” he clarified. If that wasn’t clear enough, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s son insisted, “But, yeah, we’re just homies and we love each other and it was fun.”

During that Labor Day Weekend, Jaden and Sofia were also seen arriving at a friend’s home in Malibu at night together (but not alone). Given how long they’ve known one another, it’s only natural for these pals — who were once rumored to have dated as teenagers in 2012 — run in the same circles, which includes mutual friends like Kendall and Kylie Jenner! Given their strictly platonic relationship, what gives with the flirty paparazzi photos, though?

“They both laugh off these kinds of rumors and Sofia especially loves to do these kinds of things when the paparazzi are around so she probably played it up for that,” a source close to Sofia and Jaden EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife, before Jaden broke his silence on the dating speculation. Our insider also made sure to point out that these childhood friends were “hanging out” while Sofia was still dating from Scott Disick, too, before their breakup was reported in May of 2020. However, that doesn’t mean fans should rule out the possibility of a romantic future for Sofia and Jaden, according to our source.

“Never say never about them dating because you never know what the future holds in life, but not right now,” the insider added. “But of course they‘ll be out spotted again because they‘re really tight friends and have been for years!” Jaden and Sofia also come from a “big group” that “all grew up together,” and their parents “all know each other very well, too,” our source added. Like Jaden, Sofia comes from a famous family too — her dad is none other than legendary singer-songwriter Lionel Richie!

For now, though, it looks like Sofia’s just sticking with her friends — and not making romantic partners out of them. “She’s still dealing with her breakup from Scott and she’s just looking to have fun right now,” our source also told us. Sofia and Scott dated for nearly three years, so it’s only natural for Sofia to want to dedicate more time to friends like Jaden for now.