After separating from former husband Channing Tatum, actress Jenna Dewan seems to be happier than she ever expected.

In an interview to people.com, Jenna, who is expecting her child with boyfriend Steve Kazee, opened up about her life post divorce.

She said: "It was a hard journey of growth and change. Ultimately, now I can honestly say that I'm living in a very joyful new place in my life, and I'm happy about it.

"I always say no one gets married to hopefully get divorced. People grow and they change and sometimes they don't grow and change together. So it wasn't a overnight thing that happened."

Jenna shared that "it was just a slow realization that we wanted different things".

And separating from Channing was one of the most difficult decisions for her.

She added: "I was just gutted. It was so difficult for me. It was the loss of an idealistic future for myself and my life. What does that now look like for me? Where do I begin? I met him when I was 24, I didn't know life without Chan."

The "Step Up" actress shared she leaned on her closest friends and family for support, but ultimately had to put in the work herself.

"You would never expect your life to take a turn the way it does," she says. "But embracing it and starting fresh and figuring out what you want in life and what means a lot to you and what's meaningful, what is going to make you happy. I'm grateful that I now am at a place where I understand myself and what I want and I'm happy about this new chapter. I'm in a place of joy."

Jenna separated from Channing in 2018 after nine years of marriage and 12 years together.