Here's What Jenna Dewan Said About Staying Friends With Channing Tatum After Their Divorce

Although Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum's April 2018 split announcement took us all by surprise, it did have a small silver lining. The joint statement that the former couple shared on their respective social media accounts made it clear that although Dewan and Tatum were parting ways after nine years of marriage, the loving and respectful nature of their relationship hadn't changed. The former spouses also stressed in the message that there were no hard feelings and, most importantly, that they would continue to lovingly co-parent their daughter, Everly. "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," Tatum and Dewan clarified (via X, formerly known as Twitter). 

When their split came up during the "Magic Mike" star's Vanity Fair interview, in January 2023, he admitted that they had both tried their best to salvage the marriage for a while despite knowing full well that they had "grown apart." Dewan painted a similarly amicable picture of their divorce in her chat with Vegas magazine, in May 2018. "The Rookie" star thought back to how the former couple originally met, while filming "Step Up" in 2006, recalling, "We started out as friends, and I would say it was an instant recognition," per People. She later added, "Ultimately, no matter what Chan and I are doing, we're really great friends. I think that will never change, no matter what." However, the media wasn't exactly convinced by their sweet words and has repeatedly tried to pit the exes against each other in the years since.

Unsurprisingly, the real reason for Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum's divorce quickly became a major point of speculation. In 2018, an insider spilled to The Mirror that the "21 Jump Street" actor's bad drinking habits and constant desire to party had contributed greatly to the formerly happy couple's split. However, a spokesperson for Tatum's ex-wife swiftly dispelled the rumors to the Daily Mail, pointing out, "The reason our statement was so positive [was] because that's the reality of the situation." Unfortunately, the media still wasn't convinced that there was no drama between the former Hollywood power couple. While appearing on the "Dear Gabby" podcast in 2021, Dewan revealed that she often parented without Tatum following the birth of their daughter, Everly, because his jam-packed schedule took him away from them so frequently. 

Since Dewan also had a similarly busy schedule, she was therefore left with no choice but to take their infant daughter to work with her. "I just never stopped. You know, you're up a couple times in the night and then you're working all day," the actor divulged. "I was breastfeeding, I was pumping, I was without a partner, I mean it was just craziness." It didn't take long for people to jump to the conclusion that she was shading her former husband. But, once again, Dewan came to Tatum's defense, this time with a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, where she clarified once and for all that she "would never" put him on blast and called the press out for twisting her words. And yet, despite parting on seemingly good terms and remaining committed to being good co-parents and friends, Tatum and Dewan still took six years to finalize their divorce.