Channing Tatum wished Jenna Dewan a happy Mother’s Day on Instagram like this:
“Jenna, happy Mother’s Day, baby. Momma, happy Mother’s Day. Hope you’re enjoying this beautiful sunset. Love you guys.”
Of course, the takeaway from that video is that Channing still calls Jenna, his estranged wife, his “baby.” I don’t think this is reason enough for all of you who believe that love died when Channing and Jenna broke up to start singing Boyz II Men again. Don’t get your hopes up. Channing was probably referring to Jenna as that specific term of endearment for their entire 9-year marriage. You know the saying, ‘old habits die hard’? It’s not like he wrote out a caption that called his ex-wife “baby.” He didn’t proofread, edit (although he doesn’t seem like the type to do either), and still decide to go with that word. To me, this seems like an off-the-cuff, in-the-moment slip, not a profession of undying love.
BUT.
They are broken up. And “baby” definitely falls in the pet name category. Is it weird to still call your ex by their pet name? Yes. I don’t care how consciously uncoupled you are. If I were Jenna, I’d be annoyed. Don’t call me your baby in public while we’re still finalizing a divorce, idiot. I’m sure Jenna Dewan is a lot nicer than me. She might not care at all. This relationship seems to be falling in the ‘sh-t happens’ category of celebrity breakups. So, the boring kind. Despite early rumblings of reasons more dramatic than the relationship just ran its course, this really sounds like a relationship that just ran its course. The question now is when does the “baby” run out of time too?
When Lainey and I were emailing about this, she speculated that Channing’s ease at calling Jenna “baby” means that he’s not seeing anyone else. Well, at least not seriously. She also asked, “Does he stop calling her ‘baby’ the minute he starts seeing someone?” Or to take it further, does whoever he starts seeing make sure he stops calling his ex-wife “baby”? If you wanna get with me, don’t call your ex-wife “baby” in public. That’s how the song goes, right?
Has Channing Tatum just given us his relationship tell? As soon as the “baby” stops, can we start speculating who he’s moved on to?
As for Jenna, Lainey wrote about her next moves now that she’s single and down a last name. Being Channing’s “baby” is no longer a part of Jenna Dewan’s brand. I would go so far as to say that Channing’s “baby” is bad for business if she’s trying to distance herself from him. It’s also not great for her dating life – if she’s even there yet. This probably means that she’s not seeing anyone either. Does Channing drop the “baby” once Jenna is in a new relationship too? Which one will come first?
