Signs Channing Tatum And Zoë Kravitz's Engagement Was Never Meant To Last

Everybody loves a celebrity power couple, and Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum appeared to be just that. They loved working together on films and were photographed riding together on a BMX bike, instantly becoming a memorable meme. After dating for two years, Tatum and Kravitz got engaged in 2023, just in time for some Halloween celebrations. Kravitz was spotted walking the streets in costume with her man, sporting an engagement ring that was clearly not part of her cosplay attire. Cue hundreds of happy fans across the globe. Sadly, the engagement lasted all but a year, and the 2024 Halloween season saw once-delighted fans feeling more than a little bummed that their favorite couple called it quits.

Rumors first started swirling that something was off when Kravitz was spotted out and about sans her engagement ring. As of this writing, neither she nor Tatum have publicly announced their split, but People has confirmed the end of their relationship. The two are, however, set to star together in the upcoming film "Alpha Gang."

Both Tatum and Kravitz were busy finalizing their respective divorces when they started dating, which was definitely one of the strange things many ignored about their relationship. Then there's also the fact that Kravitz told Esquire she doesn't want children. "For a long time, I felt like there was something wrong with me," she admitted. "I was waiting for this light to go off in my head, and it never did." And yet, Tatum already has a daughter, Everly, who would have become Kravitz's stepdaughter if they married. Aside from these glaring red flags, there were other signs the couple's engagement wasn't meant to last.

One might think that celebrities eventually get used to all the media attention, but for Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum, there was no getting used to the spotlight the media shone on their relationship. "They were getting a lot of attention when they first stepped out together last summer. They seemed uncomfortable with the attention and have been much more discreet lately," a source told People in March 2022.

In 2021, when rumors first started swirling that the two actors were dating, an inside source insisted that Kravitz and Tatum were nothing more than friends — this could have been a tactic to keep the press off their backs and enjoy their new relationship in private for a little while longer. "You want to keep it sacred and private as long as you can," Kravitz admitted during an interview with GQ. "So that you don't have to even think about what the world thinks about it." An insider close to Tatum also told People, "He loves his life with Zoë. They live a super private life."

Given how badly they wanted some privacy, it might be safe to say that the constant media attention played a role in the couple's decision to call off their engagement.

Aside from constantly having to dodge the paparazzi, Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum also had some baggage to deal with from previous relationships. Both of them had recently filed for divorce when they started dating, and Tatum was embroiled in a messy legal battle with his ex-wife, Jenna Dewan. The couple had some disagreements about the distribution of certain finances, and according to sources who spoke to People, the court proceedings were taking their toll on the actor. "Channing's not happy about the latest court drama. He wants it to be over," an insider said. It also appeared the actor was frustrated that the court battle was taking up time he could be spending with his daughter, Everly, and Kravitz.

Tatum was also co-parenting his daughter alongside Dewan, and the latter admitted to Romper that it wasn't always easy but that both of them were trying to navigate it the best they could. "It's always a journey," she said. "It never ends. You just learn as you go and get better at certain things." She added that having to leave Everly with Tatum for visits was hard. "It was definitely hard on her in the beginning, too, but she's gotten into a flow with that a lot more," Dewan said. No doubt all the drama affected Kravitz and Tatum's relationship as well.

Actors are notoriously busy, and it was no different for Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum. When sources told People in March 2022 how deliriously happy the couple was, they couldn't help but add that they were seeing less of each other thanks to their hectic schedules. The tipster confided that the two were traveling back and forth to meet up between work obligations whenever they could but let slip that Tatum was spending a lot of his limited free time in Los Angeles to see his daughter and, subsequently, his ex-wife, Jenna Dewan. "Zoë seems very understanding and has been doing most of the traveling," the insider claimed.

During an interview with Elle in 2022, Kravitz talked about the importance of nurturing relationships. When she was asked whether she was "optimistic about love," the actress seemed to avoid a direct answer. Instead, she replied, "I feel optimistic about life, and I think that comes hand in hand with it." She added, "All my relationships in life — my friendships, my romantic relationships, my family — the journey is learning how to show up honestly. Sometimes we can't show up, and that's okay as long as we know how to communicate that we love those people."

It might be safe to say that trying to juggle packed schedules, Tatum's visits to his daughter, and some quality alone time proved a rather arduous task for the couple, and it might be one of the reasons their engagement didn't last.

It might come as a surprise to some that Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum have both expressed skepticism when it comes to marriage prior to getting engaged. During a candid chat with Vanity Fair in January 2023, Tatum admitted that marriage is something he's grown wary of. "I don't know if I'm ever going to get married again," he confessed, adding, "Relationships are hard for me ... When it comes to people I love, I have a really hard time. I end up trying too hard, you know?" It also appeared he considered his relationship with Kravitz rather fragile. "You know when things are kind of just working, you don't want to touch it? Like pottery," Tatum said.

Kravitz, on the other hand, told GQ in 2022 that she'd grown skeptical of marriage after her divorce from actor Karl Glusman, and rightly so — they never even made it to their second anniversary. "It's a hard question to ask yourself: 'Maybe I don't want the thing that I'm supposed to want, a marriage, children, any of it. I don't know if I want that at all,'" Kravitz confessed, admitting that wrestling with these life decisions wasn't exactly easy.

Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum are both artists at heart, and their love for acting and filmmaking is what first connected them. In light of their breakup, some fans are questioning whether, perhaps, that was all the couple ever had in common.

In August 2024, two months before the couple called off their engagement, Kravitz told People how much she adores working with Tatum. "I think that art is our love language," she gushed. She also shared how Tatum was her rock when she experienced immense self-doubt during her directorial debut for "Blink Twice." The two weren't dating back then, but working together is what cemented their bond. Tatum shared with People that the flick was one of the most challenging projects of his career but also the most rewarding. "If you are thinking about having a kid or if you're thinking about getting married, go find the hardest possible creative project with your partner," he said, referring to his blossoming romance with Kravitz that followed soon after. Speaking to GQ back in 2022, Kravitz also referred to her and Tatum's shared love of film. "We both really love art and talking about art and the exploration of why we do what we do. We love to watch a film and break it down and talk about it and challenge each other," she told the outlet.

Fans who took to Reddit after news of the couple's breakup became public, many speculated that the end of their relationship was inevitable. "Makes sense," one user wrote. "Their entire relationship was in the context of her film ... Can be hard to transition a relationship from that."