Jenna Dewan Tatum Is ‘Very Comfortable’ With Her Body, Loves Looking ‘Sensual & Sexy’
Jenna Dewan Tatum and her hubby, Channing Tatum, are the definition of #CoupleGoals.
Look no further than just two of the social media tributes he regularly pens to his wife of almost eight years. Or her supersexy bump and grind of Ginuwine’s “Pony,” which Tatum performed in his hit movie Magic Mike, and his wife then recreated for him as a lap dance on Lip Sync Battle.
A post shared by Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) on Dec 3, 2016 at 3:54pm PST
A post shared by Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) on May 8, 2016 at 1:31pm PDT
At home in Los Angeles, Dewan Tatum says she and her husband, who together have daughter Everly — she turns 4 on May 31 — keep it simple. The less groomed Dewan Tatum is, the better.
“He always says, ‘No makeup.’ He likes sweats, hanging around the house, and no makeup. He likes scars and all, uneven skin tone. He likes realness,” she tells Yahoo Style.
Dewan Tatum, 36, grew up boogying, danced in videos for Janet Jackson and Christina Aguilera, and is now the host and mentor on Jennifer Lopez’s competition, World of Dance. The winner of that sashays off with a cool $1 million. Despite her impressive résumé, Dewan Tatum says she’s most surprised by the intense level of talent on the show.
“One girl can wipe her forehead with her foot in an extension. That didn’t happen for me when I was 16. I worked for my splits so hard. The level of technical training these kids are getting — it’s mind-blowing,” she says.
Being a hoofer has made Dewan Tatum willing to up the style ante when she’s on red carpets, often showing off her stems in David Koma or Marchesa.
“My aesthetic is sensual and sexy. Growing up as a dancer, you’re comfortable in your body. You’re comfortable wearing very little clothing. You’re in cropped tops and tiny skirts and fishnets,” she says. “I also really like to do more edgy, romantic things — I call it my fairy look. I like to have fun with fashion. Or why else are you doing it? I don’t want to show off. But I enjoy that style of clothing.”
But it all comes down to one thing: “I’m very comfortable with my body.”
Even while pregnant with Everly, Dewan Tatum never let herself go, or made excuses that she was eating for two, so she could gorge all day every day.
“I worked out while I was pregnant. For my sanity — it helped with the endorphins in my brain. I wanted to keep things intact. Even towards the end — we were in London for month seven, eight, nine, and I hiked all over that town. I went through Hampstead Heath with my dogs,” she says. “I did squats. Keeping active was good for my mind, my body, and my soul. I breastfed, which helped me a lot. There’s muscle memory from dancing all these years.”
Once she and Tatum brought Everly home, the impromptu workouts continued. No, Dewan Tatum did not spend hours running through the Hollywood Hills or sweating at the gym. She says it was never about fitting back into her skinny jeans, but about being happy with herself. And Dewan Tatum admits it took her “a while” to get her abs back the way she wanted them.
“I had to rock my daughter so long to get her to fall asleep. So I turned it into a workout. I would sing her and rock her and be doing lunges across the room and squats and calf raises,” she says.
Aside from a few renegade tabloids, her daughter’s face has remained hidden from public view — the Tatums don’t ever show it on their social media channels. By design. When told that I had no clue what Everly looked like, Dewan Tatum was thrilled and repeatedly thanked me for what she considers to be the highest compliment.
“We make a very conscious effort to keep her out of paparazzi situations. There are times when they are there but we try not to make a big deal out of it, or we hurry it up. We’re her parents. We’re out there in the public. That’s not her decision yet to make, and I want that to be her decision. The things we can control, we do,” she says.
Dewan Tatum loves nothing more than sharing stories about motherhood, but there’s a limit. “It’s the biggest thing in my life. But for safety and privacy, I don’t show her face. I don’t think that’s the world’s right to know, what your daughter looks like,” she says.
The Tatums have fun together. They lead active lives, and both have an easy, laid-back vibe in person.
“We do go to parties and start a dance floor. That’s why we’re wanted everywhere. Jenna and Chan will start a dance floor. Schmoozing gets so boring. You have to dance and have a good party,” she says.
So what’s their secret, if there is a secret? This is, after all, a couple that’s meant to be, according to director Adam Shankman, who produced the 2006 dance romp Step Up, was instrumental in casting a then-unknown Dewan Tatum, and thus introducing the two newcomers.
“The fact that I don’t know the answer to that could be what the magic is. The business and our careers are not our first priority. Our family is. Our own personal growth is. We do the work on ourselves. We give each other freedom to know that’s the journey and we’re on it together. There’s an ease and a flow. We try to balance it all well,” she says.
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