Jenna Dewan Describes Channing Tatum Split as ‘Positive’

Three months after Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum announced their split, Dewan is opening up about life after their nearly nine-year marriage. Posing completely nude for Women’s Health annual Naked Issue, Dewan called life without Tatum “a new normal.”

“It’s been a journey, and it’s been a transformation of myself — my needs and wants as a woman,” she said. “I think everyone wants to hold on to what’s in front of them, but when you open your mind saying, ‘I want what’s best for myself and my daughter,’ you have to be OK with however that looks. I feel like I’ve been on a wave of growth. It does look different; it’s a new normal, and I really think we’ll get used to that.”

She continued, saying the process has involved a lot of self-realization.

“I did a lot of work healing from the inside out, becoming more in touch with my womanly power,” she said. “It was always ‘I’m a dancer,’ or ‘I’m married,’ or ‘I’m an actress.’ Over the last couple of years, it became about learning about myself.”

Dewan said that while the breakup may have come as a shock to fans, she’s focusing on the positives of it.

“It’s OK for a relationship to change into a new form that is actually better for both people involved, and I think that’s maybe what shocked everyone so much—that it can be a positive thing,” she said. “That was ultimately what happened with us.”

Dewan and Tatum split in April, announcing to fans via social media that “We have lovingly chosen to separate as a couple.”

“We are still a family and will always be loving dedicated parents to Everly,” they said in the announcement.

Almost four months removed from the split, the World of Dance host recently opened up about co-parenting her and Tatum’s 5-year-old daughter, Everly, after the split.

“We’re just getting used to it. We’re in a very positive energy together, trying to be the best parents to Everly. We support each other,” she told Harper’s Bazaar in May.

She said having Everly gave her the freedom to stop worrying over what her next gig in Hollywood was going to be.

“Whether you try and hide it or not, most actresses and actors have a certain sense of anxious desperation about what their next job is,” Dewan said. “As soon as I had Everly, it went away. I had this freedom of, ‘Well, I could never work another day in my life, and I have a purpose.’”