Before the seven-year anniversary Instagrams or the 2009 Malibu wedding, Jenna and Channing Tatum were just two 20somethings unconsciously revealing how much they really, really liked each other on their 2006 Step Up press tour—the film they met on and began dating during, as Channing told Redbook in 2014.
"We were basically together on the movie. It's interesting now, because we can watch it and see; we can go, 'Oh, wow, that was actually our first real kiss.' As soon as the movie wrapped, we went back to L.A. and were together, and together ever since—never broken up."
Channing was hesitant about Jenna at first, he told ELLE in 2013: "I had just gotten out of a pretty long relationship, so I was in no way ready for another. I was trying to run from what I knew Jenna was—not someone I was just going to date. But one of my buddies was like, 'What are you doing, man? She's dope.' That night I showed up at her hotel room with a sombrero on, and that was it…we were drinking at a Mexican joint and I stole [the sombrero] off the wall."
The rest is history, and you can hear the first traces of it in these 2006 interviews: the first time they talked about each other to the press.
The Time Jenna Revealed Her "Instant Chemistry" With Channing (July 2006)
"I feel so blessed that we got this movie. And instantly we all got along. I mean, truly, it was an instant bond between the director, myself, Channing, Drew [Sidora], Mario, Damaine [Radcliff], Rachel [Griffiths], we all just really, truly had a great chemistry as a cast."
The Time Channing Raved About Jenna's Dancing (August 2006)
"You know, Jenna's been doing this since I don't even remember when. She was like six or something. Everyone involved with the film has been so trained that it was a little intimidating but you felt taken care of…"
And on his life in general: "I've just been so lucky that the right things have come along and the right people have come into my life at the right time. I feel like I won the lottery, man, I really have…"
…And The Time It Was Pretty Obvious These Two Weren't Just Friends (December 2006)
Just watch the way they react when they describe each other at the 3:20 and 4:10 marks.
Jenna: [joking]Okay, we'll be nice. Channing is a very sweet, loving, funny, giving, caring, compassionate—he's loving this right now. No, he's a hard worker, he's very goal-oriented.
Channing: Jenna's very, she's obviously beautiful, but she really, really is as beautiful inside as she is out. She's really real, too. She loves to teach people how to not come from a place of insecurity, just, you know, come from a place of love, I guess. She's a big fairy, flower child. [She's] a beautiful soul, a beautiful soul.
Jenna: Aww.
No wonder that became this:
