UPDATE: One day after Jenna’s quotes about Channing Tatum and their co-parenting made headlines, she took to social media to say her words were “distorted”. In a statement shared on Aug. 3, she said, “It’s unfortunate that countless media outlets have taken an important conversation on a woman’s experience with postpartum issues and pulled quotes to make it appear that I was slamming my daughters’ father, something I would never do. As two working parents, we both faced challenges at the time, but I speak only for myself and not about him. Anyone who actually listens to the interview, something I encourage everyone to do, will clearly see that my words have been distorted for clicks and to push false, salacious gossip with no regard for the actual people involved, or the message intended.”
— Jenna Dewan (@jennadewan) August 3, 2021
ORIGINAL STORY: Jenna Dewan got real about the struggles of being a working mom. The actress, 40, appeared on Gabby Bernstein’s Dear Gabby podcast on Monday, Aug. 2 and recalled how difficult it had been after she gave birth to her first child Everly, 8, whom she shares with ex-husband Channing Tatum, as a working parent — especially when both she and her ex, 41, had working schedules on opposite sides of the world.
The Step Up actress explained that she gave birth to Everly in London while Channing had been filming a project there. Following her daughter’s arrival, Jenna flew to Canada to resume work on the series Witches of East End — newborn infant in tow. “I had to travel with her and at the time, Chan wasn’t available to be with us for the most part,” she said. “So, it was me, my doula and Evie all by ourselves, traveling at six weeks.”
“That was really hard because that was long hours,” Jenna said. “I did have her on set with me constantly. It was just really difficult.” The actress also got candid about the postpartum anxiety she endured. “I had a lot of postpartum anxiety, I would say. It was like, I just never stopped,” she recalled.
“You know, you’re up a couple times in the night and then you’re working all day. I was breast-feeding, I was pumping, I was without a partner — I mean, it was just craziness,” Jenna said. The dancer recalled how different the process had been with her second child, Callum, 1, whom she shares with her fiancé Steve Kazee.
While her baby boy arrived amid the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jenna recalled feeling more “grounded” the second time around. “This time around, I was so grounded,” she said. “Even though the world was crazy, I was home and in this love nest and it was different.”
Channing and Jenna split in April 2018 after nearly nine years of marriage. The longtime couple released a joint statement that explained they had “lovingly chosen to separate.” News of Jenna and Steve’s coupling became public knowledge that October. Jenna announced her pregnancy in September 2019, and the couple confirmed their engagement last February. Jenna welcomed her second child the following month in March.
As for the wedding, that has been put on pause for obvious coronavirus reasons. “We hadn’t even had a chance to talk much about our wedding,” Jenna told The Knot last month. “A month after we got engaged, I had Callum and then a week later, quarantine began. We just put everything on pause.”