Channing Tatum rarely opens up about his marriage to Jenna Dewan, but in this interview, nothing was off-limits
Parenting is one of the hardest things many couples will ever face together. That goes for famous couples, too, as we’re learning from a new, no-holds-barred interview Channing Tatum did with Vanity Fair, where he explained how parenting was what started to expose the cracks in his 10-year marriage to actress-turned-dancer Jenna Dewan.
Tatum and Dewan split in 2019, 13 years after they met on the set of Step Up. They share a daughter together—nine-year-old Everly.
“We fought for it for a really long time, even though we both sort of knew that we had sort of grown apart,” Tatum said in the interview about his marriage to Dewan. “I think we told ourselves a story when we were young, and we just kept telling ourselves that story, no matter how blatantly life was telling us that we were so different. But when you’re actually parents, you really understand differences between the two of you. Because it is screaming at you all day long. How you parent differently, how you look at the world, how you go through the world.”
That’s a sentiment that will likely be relatable to many parents. Relationships are already difficult, but parenting presents a whole new set of challenges to navigate.
In the interview, Tatum said “it was super scary and terrifying” to end his relationship with Dewan after a decade together.
“Your life just turns on its axis. This whole plan that you had literally just turns into sand and goes through your fingers and you’re just like, ‘Oh, sh*t. What now?'” he continued. “It was probably exactly what I needed. I don’t think I would’ve ever done the work, I think, on myself in the way that I had to do the work on myself to really try to figure out what next.”
This, Tatum said, was because of Everly.
“And really, it just started with my daughter,” he explained. “I just dropped everything and just focused on her. And it was truly the best possible thing that I ever could have done. Because in the alone time that I have with just me and her, we’ve become best friends.”
It’s rare for Tatum to open up like this about his relationship with Dewan—and especially their split. But his honesty here is refreshing, and his message is important. Even better, it sounds like his family has found what works for them and allows everyone to be happy.
