Jenna Dewan reveals why 'most fun' Dancing With The Stars stint has been so emotional
Step Up actress Jenna Dewan has returned to her dancing roots and loved every second so far.
Jenna Dewan says Dancing With The Stars is the "most fun" she's had in "the last 30 years".
The 45-year-old star, who started her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson and landed a breakout role in 2006's Step Up, has loved returning to her roots for the hit show.
She told E! News: “It’s the most fun I’ve had maybe in the last 30 years. This is just so fun...
“I had a real moment of, ‘I can’t believe that, at 45, and this chapter of my life that dance is still finding me again'.
“And causing me to grow and causing me to feel all the depths of the emotion.”
Jenna has argued that the Dancing With The Stars judges are "probably innately" holding her to a higher standard on the show because of her background in dance.
She said: "There’s a certain sense of expectation of somebody who has a dance background coming onto the show.
"And there probably is something they’re looking for that we are still needing to work on to give or maybe give less of. I don’t know.”
However, Jenna - who scored just 21 out of 30 for her and Val Chmerkovskiy's routine to Toto hit Africa - argued that in terms of the ballroom, she's still very much a novice.
She added: "I don't understand how all that works, but I know we show up every week and we keep doing our best and we want to keep showing our joy and our love and the fun connection we have together and how much we love getting a chance to keep dancing.”
Jenna, who has son Everly, 13, with ex Channing Tatum and kids Callum, six, and Rhiannon, two, with her fiancé Steve Kazee, previously opened up about the lessons she learned about herself after her divorce in 2024.
In an essay for InStyle magazine in January 2025, she wrote: "This past year I learned that life has a way of bringing you exactly what you need to learn at exactly the right time.
"The transitions weren’t just changes; they were invitations to grow, to lean into the discomfort and discover the strength I didn’t know I had.
"In 2024, especially, I learned a lot about myself, my resilience, and my voice.
"I learned to let go of over-accommodating in my relationships and to sit with uncomfortability. What it really means to trust."
She insisted that "fresh starts" happen in "quiet" moments, rather than being a "big proclamation".
They continued: "They happen in the quiet choices: forgiving yourself, showing up again, trusting the process even when it feels hopeless.
"Life’s beauty lies in its imperfection — the laughter through tears, the moments of doubt that give way to clarity.
"When you embrace the journey instead of clinging to the destination, you begin to surprise yourself with more joy than you imagined possible."
