Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Separate After 8 Years of Marriage

Step Up co-stars tied the knot back in July 2009 and share one daughter together

By Samantha Schnurr Apr 03, 2018 1:20 AMTags
Channing Tatum, Jenna DewanJames Gourley/REX/Shutterstock

After nearly a decade of marriage, Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum's off-screen love story is coming to a close. 

One of Hollywood's most beloved couples is separating after eight years of marriage, they announced in a lengthy statement via Twitter

"Hey world!" Channing and Jenna wrote on Monday. "So… We have something we would like to share. First off, it feels odd that we have to share this kind of thing with everyone, but it's a consequence of the lives we've chosen to lead, which we also happen to be deeply grateful for. We're living in an incredible moment in time, but it's also a time where truth can easily get distorted into 'alternative facts' So we want to share the truth so you know that if you didn't read it here then it's most certainly fiction."

They continued, "We have lovingly chosen to separate as a couple. We fell deeply in love so many years ago and have had a magical journey together. Absolutely nothing has changed about how much we love one another, but love is a beautiful adventure that is taking us on different paths for now. There are no secrets nor salacious events at the root of our decision—just two best-friends realizing it's time to take some space and help each other live the most joyous, fulfilled lives as possible. We are still a family and will always be loving dedicated parents to Everly. We won't be commenting beyond this, and we thank you all in advance for respecting our family's privacy. Sending lots of love to everyone, Chan&Jenna."

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Fans of the 2006 hit rom-com Step Up watched the sparks fly between the two co-stars on the silver screen as, unbeknownst to the public at the time, the two were falling in love in real life.  

"[I was like] 'Look, if you want to date other people and be free, that's totally fine, but we're not going to hang out and 'watch movies. 'You've got to figure out what you want, because I know I want to be in a relationship,'" she once recalled to Ellen DeGeneres

"He had gone out with all the dancers on Step Up and had this crazy, wild tequila night and he said he had the chance 'to be free' and he couldn't stop thinking about me. So, he comes down to my hotel room at two in the morning and he's banging on the door, and I'm like, 'What is going on?' And I go and I open the door, and he's in a sombrero. He's naked—no, sorry. He has underwear—underwear, sombrero and Ugg boots, and he's like, 'Let's do this.'"

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Before it came time to propose to his real-life leading lady, the actor accidentally made her cry. "When I proposed to my wife I did something pretty cruel because I thought she was on to me," Channing said in an interview on BBC Radio One's The Breakfast Show With Nick Grimshaw. "I basically told her I never wanted to get married to try to throw her off."

"I told her, 'I don't believe in the institution of marriage and I don't think I ever want to get married,'" he continued. "She basically broke down crying. I thought, 'This is not going well at all,' so I had to propose to her sooner rather than later." He ultimately popped the question in September 2008 while the two were vacationing in Maui. Less than a year later, the couple exchanged "I do's" in front of family and friends in an outdoor Malibu ceremony in July 2009. 

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Four years later, the couple had a little one on the way. "We don't know" if it's a boy or girl," the Magic Mike star told E! News back in 2013. "We're going to be surprised. It's one of the only real surprises you're ever going to get that's legit." Later that year, Jenna gave birth to their first and only child together, daughter Everly Tatum

It didn't take long for the Mr. and Mrs. to dance into the public's collective heart as they became a staple couple on red carpets and the go-to pair for marriage inspiration. After all, they managed to turn a Lip Sync Battle into an unforgettable date night. 

However, while they had become one of the most recognizable couples in the world, they managed to keep their personal lives as private as possible, opting not to share photos of their child's face on social media and keeping talk of their life together to a minimum. However, whenever either did discuss their relationship, they stuck to reality. 

"Just listen to each other—that's it," Channing told E!'s Sibley Scoles when asked about the success of their marriage. "There's no magic recipe. Every two unique snowflakes that meet are going to have a different combination."

Watch: Jenna Dewan Tatum Reveals Secret to Marriage With Channing
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Jenna has been equally candid, telling Health in February that she wants to scream when people call her marriage "perfect."

"I think there are such things as great fits. It is a great fit as long as you are growing together, and I think up until this point we've really grown together. Even if one starts to grow, the other catches up and vice versa. But I think a couple needs to be conscious and to want to do the work and be willing to look at the parts of you that need work," she explained to the magazine. "Both of us have been pretty aware and willing to do that. We've always had the same values. But we're not perfect! Are you kidding? We fight like other couples, we disagree about things, we have days where we don't really like each other."