Channing Tatum shares secret to his successful marriage

Channing Tatum is in the pages of Cosmopolitan magazine's July issue, where he shared the secret to his successful marriage.

The "White House Down" star and wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum have been together for nearly eight years. The couple, who married in July 2009, will soon welcome their first child.

Tatum, 33, told the magazine, "You have to want it. Jenna's and my thing is checking in with each other all the time, like 'On a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you love me right now?' And you gotta be honest, and you've got to want an honest answer."

The July "Cosmo Guy" also revealed how he stays grounded: With a little help from his friends.

"My friends keep me grounded. It's embarrassing to tell you how much my friends make fun of me," he said. "Seriously, when you have a doll made of your face, it's ridiculous how creative your friends can get...pictures, videos, little animated cartoons they've made. And they're way, way not PG-13. So I get chopped down to size all the time."

The interview included Tatum's feelings about fellow star Jennifer Lawrence ("I wouldn't mind being the male Jennifer Lawrence. I think she's incredibly cool") and his affinity for food.

"I'm a fat kid on the inside. I love food so much, and I fluctuate about 25-30 pounds between movies. I feel like I have to do a chess movie that requires very little movement at some point, just so I can eat pizza and play chess on the beach all day. And then eat more pizza and cheeseburgers and drink beer. That'd be amazing. I'd give anything for that. I gotta figure that movie out."

The July issue of Cosmopolitan arrives on newsstands June 4. "White House Down" will be released on June 28.