Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan "fought for a really long time" to try and make their marriage work.
The 'Magic Mike's Last Dance' star and his 'Step Up' co-star - who have daughter Everly, nine - got divorced in 2019 after almost a decade together, and the Hollywood star admits they tried their best to stay together but they were ultimately on different paths in life.
The 42-year-old actor, now dating his 'Pussy Island' director Zoe Kravitz, 34, told the February 2023 issue of Vanity Fair magazine: “We fought for it for a really long time, even though we both sort of knew that we had sort of grown apart.
“I think we told ourselves a story when we were young, and we just kept telling ourselves that story, no matter how blatantly life was telling us that we were so different. But when you’re actually parents, you really understand differences between the two of you. Because it is screaming at you all day long. How you parent differently, how you look at the world, how you go through the world.”
Channing added about their split: “In the beginning, it was super scary and terrifying.
“Your life just turns on its axis. This whole plan that you had literally just turns into sand and goes through your fingers and you’re just like, ‘Oh, s***. What now?’"
The 'Dog' director - who dated British pop star Jessie J between 2018 and 2020 - also admitted he's always feared heartbreak and often ends up "trying too hard" in relationships as a result.
He explained: “Relationships are hard for me.
“Even though I am a bit of a monogamist. In business, I have no real fear of anything being destroyed. But heart things, when it comes to people I love, I have a really hard time. I end up trying too hard, you know?”
However, he's trying to live more in the moment and not think too far ahead about what may or may not happen in the future.
Tatum added: “So I can actually experience these moments, instead of just trying to change it or something.
“Or being afraid that it’s not going to work out how I wanted or something.”
Read 'Channing Tatum Is Back for Magic Mike's Last Dance' by Jessica Pressler in Vanity Fair's February issue, on newsstands January 24, and on VanityFair.com.
