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Jenna Dewan Says She 'Fell in Love' with Steve Kazee Years Prior To Dating — And So Did Her Mom

Jenna Dewan Steve Kazee
Jenna Dewan Steve Kazee

WWE Jenna Dewan Steve Kazee

Jenna Dewan and her mother Nancy Smith were both captivated by Steve Kazee when they first met him, way back in 2012.

The actress, 40, revealed she first connected with her now-fiancé after meeting Kazee backstage with her mother after seeing him in Once, the Broadway musical that earned him his Tony award.

"About nine years ago, I happened to be in New York, so I took my mom to see Once on Broadway. We cried our eyes out and fell in love with the show—in particular, the lead actor, Steve Kazee," Dewan told in the fall 2021 issue of The Knot Magazine. "We thought he was just so talented."

She added, "And funnily enough, my mom had the biggest crush. She couldn't stop saying, 'He's the cutest, so sensitive, so handsome.' She just kept going on and on."

The World of Dance alum then had the idea to wait for the Once cast by the stage door. "We waited for a few minutes, and he appeared. I was pushing her forward to say hi, and Steve and I just had one of those eye-catching moments," the mom-of-two recalled.

Dewan continued, "It was very quick, but it struck us both. It was a moment. My mom and I told him what a great job he did and how it was such an amazing show, and that was it. We both went off into the night. But I never forgot the moment."

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At the time, the actress was married to Channing Tatum — whom she split from in 2018 and had their divorce finalized in 2019. The former pair share Everly "Evie" Tatum, 8.

While Dewan doesn't consider meeting Kazee love at first sight, she told The Knot, "I think it was a remembrance at first sight, or that's kinda what I like to call it."

"We just both thought, 'Hmm,'" she explained. "You go through life and you know those moments don't happen every day."

Years later, the now-engaged couple reunited and found their happily-ever-after.

Jenna Dewan
Jenna Dewan

Jenna Dewan/instagram Jenna Dewan and Steve Kazee

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"Life went on, as it does. Many years later, we were in different situations. I was single again, he was single. He messaged me and said something like, 'Hey, I don't know if you remember me, but how are you?'" Dewan recalled. "And I was floored. Of course I remembered him. And that moment in 2012."

The dancer told the outlet her relationship to the actor "was just kind of fate—it was totally meant to be."

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The couple began dating in October 2018, a few months after Dewan and Tatum announced their separation in April. One year later, the happy couple revealed they were expecting their first child together in an interview with PEOPLE.

Son Callum was born 16 months ago.

Kazee popped the question in February 2020.