Julianne Hough's Revelations: What She's Said About Love, Loss & More

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When it came to Julianne Hough's dogs Lexi and Harley, she made it wide she loved "my girls much than thing connected this planet!"

So erstwhile the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels abruptly died successful September 2019, fans wondered what happened. However, Julianne lone expressed her grief.

"I’ve ne'er experienced a emotion similar ours," she wrote connected Instagram the pursuing month. "I miss you. I emotion you forever. Now You Are Free."

It wouldn't beryllium until 5 years aboriginal that Julianne shared they were killed by coyotes. 

“I woke up earlier my telephone adjacent rang, and I knew,” she said connected an August 2024 occurrence of The Jamie Kern Lima Show. “I picked up the telephone and my adjunct astatine the clip was conscionable screaming.”  

Julianne said she had gates and ne'er had coyotes successful her gait before. However, she expressed however she's grateful Lexi and Harley "went together," that "usually however it happens is precise quick," and that she recovered their bodies.

Their deaths came amid a hard time. As Julianne recalled connected the podcast, she'd separated from now-ex-husband Brooks Laich, stopped moving with her longtime adjunct and was preparing to bring her marque KINRGY connected Oprah Winfrey's 2020 tour.

And portion Lexi and Harley volition ever beryllium successful her heart, she's extended her emotion —getting canine Sunny successful 2023.

"Lexi & Harley would person loved and played with you everyday," she wrote successful a 2024 post, "and I cognize that they sent you to me, lone erstwhile I was acceptable to unfastened my bosom and emotion again - you cracked maine unfastened sweetheart."

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Though Julianne and Brooks announced their divided successful May 2020—finalizing their divorce little than 2 years later—the dancer suggested she and the erstwhile NHL subordinate had been facing challenges for a while. 

“There was besides a agelong clip of questioning is this working, is this not working?" Julianne shared connected The Jamie Kern Lima Show. "We’re going successful antithetic directions."

Julianne and Brooks archetypal sparked romance rumors successful 2014 and tied the knot 3 years later.

"I went afloat unit up into relationship," she added, "and it was amazing. And I volition archer you it was the top happening that could person happened to maine astatine that clip successful my beingness due to the fact that what I needed astatine that clip was to reconnect to my 10-year-old self. And what did I request astatine 10? I truly needed information and astir similar a begetter fig to travel successful and beryllium that grounding unit of stability. So I deliberation a batch of our dynamic was this small miss feeling and this stableness and unchangeable antheral to beryllium there."

This dynamic provided her with healing.

"When I started going done each of that journey, I started becoming much of a woman," she continued. "When that was happening, I was starting to perceive to my dependable more—not the 10-year-old dependable that was making decisions subconsciously."

And Julianne began to larn much astir herself.

"As that started happening," she aboriginal added, "I truly started shifting and changing and questioning what I believed in." 

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While inactive with Brooks she erstwhile told him, "'You cognize I’m not straight, right?'" the Safe Haven prima recalled to Women’s Health successful 2019. “And helium was like, 'I’m sorry, what?' I was like, 'I'm not. But I take to beryllium with you.'"

However, Julianne isn’t focusing connected labels. 

“Coming retired is 1 of the astir susceptible and empowering things that you tin do,” she noted connected The Jamie Kern Lima Show. “And I deliberation for maine was precise overmuch similar it’s not astir being consecutive oregon cheery oregon bi oregon queer. It’s much astir I deliberation I’m conscionable learning what emotion is and I emotion people. I don’t cognize what I’m attracted to, but I take you.”

As her travel of self-discovery continued, Julianne learned much astir however she connects with others.

“That is the state of the emotion that I was starting to acquisition successful seeing people,” the dancer added. “Because I deliberation I had been capable to instrumentality disconnected a furniture of, again, protection. And alternatively of being truthful internalized, I was starting to spot radical and seeing their hearts and seeing their quality and their essence coming done successful a mode that I was like, 'Wow, I emotion people. And I don’t cognize if it’s a intersexual attraction oregon a this attraction, but I’m conscionable seeing people.' And that was specified a beauteous revelation."

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She wouldn’t springiness this personage the mirrorball trophy again.

While appearing connected an August 2024 occurrence of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the Dancing With the Stars big cosigned erstwhile chap guest Mickey Guyton said she disagreed with Bobby Bones winning play 27 with pro Sharna Burgess successful 2018.

“I really hold with you,” Julianne replied, “and I deliberation it’s due to the fact that the instrumentality base, right? It’s each astir instrumentality basal connected that show. He was not the champion dancer.”

However, Bobby made it wide that Julianne didn't measurement connected his toes with her remark.

"I was the worst dancer," the vigor property said successful an Instagram video aboriginal that month. "I instrumentality pridefulness successful that. Now, I tried arsenic hard arsenic anybody successful the past of the show. But I can't creation now, couldn't creation then."

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When Julianne started dating Ryan Seacrest successful 2010, she was introduced to a caller world—one with luxury vacations, courtside Lakers seats and glamorous day nights.

“The rug was swept up from underneath maine and I was conscionable flying,” she said connected an August 2024 occurrence of Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert. “I was experiencing things that I didn’t adjacent cognize existed. But past I had this insecurity that I was like, 'I don’t ever privation anybody to deliberation that I’m with him for this reason. So I past started playing smaller.'"

And Julianne saw herself change.

“I, again, overcompensated, was malleable to acceptable into precisely what idiosyncratic needed maine to beryllium for them to beryllium happy,” she added. “What I've realized implicit the years is I don't cognize if I've ever genuinely been successful emotion with someone, but I person loved the feeling of being loved. And truthful fto maine beryllium what that needs to beryllium truthful that I tin beryllium loved. And past due to the fact that I'm truthful filled with emotion from someone, of people I emotion you. I emotion everyone. I've been successful emotion with everybody I've ever dated, but person I? I don't wanna overanalyze it due to the fact that each idiosyncratic I've besides dated has been a precise bully person.”

When Julianne and Ryan divided 2013, she noted, a batch of "Brentwood moms and producers" questioned the decision.

"They're like, ‘Your beingness is wholly acceptable up,'" she said. "And I was like, ‘But I didn't physique it.’ And of people I was like, ‘I request to make this,’ competitively, like, 'it's not mine, and I wanna consciousness the pridefulness of doing it.'”

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Julianne's state euphony vocation started disconnected connected a precocious note.

The vocalist released her azygous "Will You Dance With Me" successful 2007 and her self-titled debut album—which secured the No. 1 spot connected Billboard's Top Country Album illustration and featured the Hot 100 deed "That Song In My Head"—the pursuing year. She adjacent toured with Brad Paisley and won the Top New Artist and Top New Female Vocalist trophies astatine the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards.

Julianne went connected to driblet her azygous "Is That So Wrong" successful 2010. And portion determination was speech of a 2nd album, it ne'er came to fruition.

So what happened?

"My science was, 'If I'm not No. 1, past I'm losing,'" Julianne said connected an August 2024 occurrence of On Air With Ryan Seacrest. "I had this competitory quality with myself, and truthful I decided to just, 'I'm going to pivot, and I'm going to spell bash movies instead.' I ne'er truly followed done with my music, and that was my biggest regret."

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Fans whitethorn person seen that viral video of Julianne screaming during an vigor league astatine the World Economic Forum successful 2020.

And 4 years later, the Grease Live! alum spoke retired astir that moment.

"I've had a fewer of those supernatural experiences and had a batch of radical beryllium like, 'She's mislaid the plot!'" Julianne shared connected an August 2024 occurrence of Off the Vine With Kaitlyn Bristowe. "Or I did this vigor enactment session, and it went viral. People were like, 'What? She's got, like, demons and an exorcist coming retired of her butthole' oregon thing similar that. Of course, that was astir 5 years ago. Now, it's truthful overmuch much accessible. People recognize what's happening, and vigor is everything."

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“My archetypal acquisition was erstwhile I was astir 4 years aged by a neighbor successful our neighborhood, successful our cul-de-sac,” the Utah autochthonal said connected The Jamie Kern Lima Show. “I’ve really ne'er said that retired large to anybody successful an interrogation before. That was a precise confusing clip because, evidently increasing up successful the Mormon culture, everything needs to beryllium perfect, everybody needs to enactment connected the shiny ‘we’ve got ourselves together.’ And determination was not a batch of repercussion for what had happened.” 

Julianne said it would beryllium years earlier she told her parents.

“Forgot astir it, and past different things happened aboriginal successful my childhood,” she added. “And past astir 15, I came location and I started sharing those things. But I had forgot astir the neighbour happening astatine 4 years aged until I started truly doing this enactment successful the past fewer years. That’s wherefore I deliberation I blocked retired from commencement to 10, basically, due to the fact that I wholly dissociated from that ever happening.”

At the opening of her publication Everything We Never Knew, she dedicated the caller to her younger aforesaid who “did what she needed to bash to past and support herself to get to the spot she is today.”

“There's truthful galore radical that bash what they request to bash to survive,” she told Jamie Kern. “And we should beryllium truthful grateful for that portion and that mentation of america and cognize that arsenic an adult, like, ‘I spot you present and you're not alone.’”

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Though Julianne loves the tegument she's in, she volition ne'er hide however her assemblage was criticized portion she was moving connected an unnamed movie.

"I was precise self-accepting increasing up, past thing switched successful mediate school," the histrion shared successful a 2017 interrogation with Redbook. "I would comparison myself to everyone...and aboriginal I did a movie wherever I fundamentally was told I was abdominous each day, yet I was the skinniest I’d ever been. Now, erstwhile I’m self-conscious, I’ll bash thing wholly brainsick oregon goofy to get retired of my ain head—something amusive that reminds maine of the state I felt arsenic a kid earlier each that happened."

And Julianne tries to absorption connected her ain narration with her assemblage versus what different radical say.

“In the nationalist eye, it’s decidedly harder to not bushed yourself up erstwhile you spot comments that are telling you different than you feel,” she told People successful 2016. "I’m doing the champion that I tin close present and I’m making these conscious choices, and astatine the extremity of the day, arsenic agelong arsenic I’m blessed and I’m affirmative and I’m feeling good, that’s each that realty matters.”