Jenna Dewan will never forget the moment she met her fiancé Steve Kazee.
As she told The Knot for its fall issue, it was about nine years ago and Dewan and her mom were in New York. They decided to see the musical Once, which Kazee starred in.
"We cried our eyes out and fell in love with the show—in particular, the lead actor, Steve Kazee," Dewan recalled. "We thought he was just so talented. And funnily enough, my mom had the biggest crush—she couldn't stop saying, 'He's the cutest, so sensitive, so handsome.' She just kept going on and on."
So, the mother-daughter duo decided to wait by the stage door and congratulate the Tony winner on his performance. But neither of them expected what happened next.
"I was pushing her forward to say hi, and Steve and I just had one of those eye-catching moments," the actress told the magazine. "It was very quick, but it struck us both. It was a moment. My mom and I told him what a great job he did and how it was such an amazing show, and that was it. We both went off into the night. But I never forgot the moment."
Life went on. Dewan was busy acting and dancing. She was married to Channing Tatum and they welcomed daughter Everly in 2013. But in 2018, the Step Up stars split, finalizing their divorce the following year.
After Tatum and Dewan broke up, the Come Dance With Me judge connected with Kazee, and they both hadn't forgotten that brief meeting in New York years ago.
"Many years later, we were in different situations. I was single again, he was single," she said. "He messaged me and said something like, 'Hey, I don't know if you remember me, but how are you?' And I was floored. Of course I remembered him. And that moment in 2012. And it was just kind of fate—it was totally meant to be."
The couple got engaged in February 2020 and welcomed their son Callum the following month. Now, Dewan and Kazee are getting ready to say "I do." And while they haven't finalized all of the wedding details, Dewan told The Knot she wants to have a "spiritual ceremony" in which they write their own vows and have someone close to them officiate. And, of course, they'll involve the kids in the special day, too.
"Oh, Evie would never forgive me if I did not let her be the flower girl," the bride-to-be told the publication. "She would never speak to me again—that's how much it means to her. I will for sure keep the tradition of incorporating Evie and Callum in the wedding."