Back in the fall of 1990, NBC took a giant leap of faith with 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'. The results were immediate and the show was a monster hit for the network, as Will Smith was front and center for the six years of the show, along with 148 episodes.
In truth, the show could've lasted far longer, as, in May of 1996, NBC aired the final episode. Thankfully, decades later in late 2020, a reunion was finally released, tying up some loose ends from the behind-the-scenes of the show.
Will Smith became a huge star because of the experience and transitioning to film would set his career to the next level. He certainly made connections on the sitcom, as it featured an All-Star cast of guests throughout the years.
In truth, one of the most remembered guest stars who appeared for a few episodes ended up dating Will for a year.
We'll take a look back at that relationship, along with if the two are on talking terms these days. The answer might surprise most.
In addition, we'll look back at some of the more iconic guests in the show's storied history.
The Show Had Some Iconic Guest Stars
The show wasn't short on iconic guest stars throughout the years. The All-Star list includes the likes of Quincy Jones and Oprah Winfrey at the very top.
Some controversial figures also appeared, such as Donald Trump and Hugh Hefner.
Even those from the sporting world made some iconic appearances on the show, including Evander Holyfield and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
With all the appearances, things weren't always the smoothest behind the scenes. Karyn Parsons, who played the role of Hilary admitted that the reunion helped to finally resolve lots of issues from the past.
"It's something we all really needed, and I think I didn't realize how much — you know, it's been kind of ugly and turbulent in the past. You know, there's been comments exchanged and stuff. And I was never directly a part of any of it. So, I didn't like it; I was sad that it existed, but I didn't know how much it really affected me until it was gone, until things were made good."
According to Tatyana Ali, things are better than ever these days, and the cast actually has a group chat.
"After the reunion, we're all on a group text, so that's really fun," says Ali. "We were having so much fun at the reunion. They just filmed us talking for two days straight."
Smith had a close connection to lots of the cast and as it turns out, he dated a certain someone for a year.
He Dated His Co-Star For A Year
Prior to meeting his future wife Jada Pinkett Smith, the star dated none other than Tyra Banks in what was a year-long relationship according to Whos Dated Who. The couple dated from 1993 up until 1994.
Like so many others, Tyra had a blast on the show. Though she did admit alongside Yahoo that the audition part was quite tough and not what she expected.
"You know, just kind of like a basketball girl. I walked in kind of around the way, no makeup."
"And then in the audition room, there's, like, a line of chairs and there's all of these actresses. And I swear everybody had on a little black dress and black heels and just looking gorgeous and face done, and I'm like, 'Oh, you're not supposed to dress like the character, you're supposed to, like, be pretty and then they put the character on you later.' I was sitting there feeling so dumb."
It all worked out for Tyra as a few hours later, she was called back in to read lines with Smith. Obviously, the two hit it off and despite the breakup, they managed to keep things on good terms all these years later.
They Kept On Good Terms Till This Day
Not only are the two on good terms these days, but they also read some iconic lines together from their time on the show.
Banks still had her lines memorized! The role was a big deal to her both then and now, as it was her first gig in the industry. Her agents pushed her towards the audition and as they say, the rest is history.
The two shared a lot of laughs together, proving that things are more than fine all these years later.