Zoë Kravitz Just Revealed the Story Behind That Viral Bike Photo With Channing Tatum

Let’s take a quick trip back to 2021 when, on a warm August day, photos emerged of Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum traveling around the streets of New York City together on a bike. Tatum sat and peddled as Kravitz stood behind him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. After months of sources denying rumors the pair was dating, the image seemingly confirmed it, while simultaneously entering the canon of celeb paparazzi pics.

Over a year later, and the couple is more open about their relationship than they were back then (with Tatum even speaking to W about Kravitz back in February). So, it seems appropriate for Kravitz to finally reveal how she ended up on the back of that bike on that fated day, and it’s actually a very sweet story. Kravitz told GQ that the outing marked the first time the pair went outside together, when Tatum decided to walk Kravitz to her writing partner’s house a few blocks away. According to the actress, she’d dressed poorly for the weather and was overheating in her jeans.

“I was sweating and he was like, ‘Get on the bike, I’ll ride you over and you can relax,’” she said. She hopped up on the bike, and it was at that moment that she saw the paparazzi, but at that point it was too late. “You want to keep it sacred and private as long as you can,” she said. “So that you don’t have to even think about what the world thinks about it.”

Since then, the couple has gone on many walks together through New York City with the resulting paparazzi photos always making for a good laugh thanks to the basic sight gag of the very petite Kravitz next to the extremely buff Tatum. Despite their physical differences, however, Kravitz explained they have a lot in common. The two met when Kravitz cast Tatum in her directorial debut Pussy Island, and they clicked right away.

“He’s just a wonderful human,” she said. “He makes me laugh and we both really love art and talking about art and the exploration of why we do what we do. We love to watch a film and break it down and talk about it and challenge each other.” Kravitz revealed that the first film they watched together was the 90s cult hit True Romance, though they also have an affinity for the domestic dramas of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands (who mirror Kravitz and Tatum with their director-actor relationship).

Kravitz explained that Tatum is a “continually calming presence” for the actress. “Whether it was making me tea or pouring me a drink or going to whip someone into shape or whatever—he really was my protector and it was really wonderful and sweet,” she said. And after working on Pussy Island together (which Kravitz called “a good test” of their relationship), they’re stronger than ever.