Yahoo Lifestyle Will Smith Wishes Son Trey a Happy Birthday as He Reflects on Their 'Transformative Journey of Love'
Will called his eldest child “one of the finest Teachers I’ve ever had” in a heartfelt social media tribute
Will Smith/Instagram
Will Smith and son TreyWill Smith is celebrating the birthday of a very special loved one.
Will, 56, celebrated son Trey Smith's 32nd birthday with a heartfelt social media tribute on Monday, Nov. 11.
“Happy Birthday, T-Ball!” the King Richard Oscar winner captioned a slideshow of three photos of him and his eldest child: one pic was a throwback of a pint-sized Trey smiling on Will’s lap, while two more recent images showed the duo hanging out together.
“Our relationship has been a transformative journey of love,” continued Will in his caption. “You are one of the finest Teachers I’ve ever had.”
He added, “I love being your Daddy!”
Jemal Countess/FilmMagic
Will Smith and Trey Smith at the 'Bad Boys for Life' Los Angeles premiere in 2020Fans and friends wished Trey a happy birthday in the post’s comments. “Happy Birthday much love 🙏🏾,” wrote Will’s Bad Boys costar Martin Lawrence.
Related: Will Smith's 3 Children: All About Jaden, Willow and Trey
Will shares Trey (whose full name is Willard Carroll "Trey" Smith III) with ex-wife Sheree Zampino. Two years after Trey's birth, his parents divorced, ending three years of marriage.
"I've been hurt a lot in my adult life, but I don't think anything touches the failure of getting divorced from my 2-year-old son's mother,” Will said on a 2020 episode of Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk, hosted by his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, daughter Willow and Jada's mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris.
But after a few years of being "absent," as Will said at the time, he and his eldest son reconnected: "As soon as Trey was ready, he came looking for his father."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
(Left-right:) Trey Smith, Willow Smith, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jaden Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris at the 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die' Los Angeles premiere on May 30The former Fresh Prince of Bel Air rapper-actor and Jada share Willow, 24, and Jaden, 26. Like his siblings, Trey has dabbled in acting and music, appearing at age 5 in Will’s music video for his rendition of Bill Withers’ “Just the Two of Us” (which paid tribute to father-son relationships).
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
Will has celebrated “T-Ball” on social media in birthdays past. In 2020, the two recreated a throwback photo of Trey standing on a chair next to his father. “One of my favorite people on Earth,” Will wrote of Trey at the time.
