Julianne Hough Addresses Sexuality After Saying She’s “Not Straight”

Julianne and Brooks went on to divorce in 2022 after almost five years of marriage.

As for how she looks back on that time, the former DWTS dance pro, who returned to the series as a cohost in 2023, told Jamie Kern Lima her past relationship with the hockey player was “the greatest thing that could have happened to me at that time.”

“What I needed at that time was to reconnect to my 10-year-old self,” she explained. “And what did I need at 10? I really needed safety, and almost, like, a father figure to come in and be that grounding force of stability. And so I think a lot of our dynamic was this little girl feeling and this stability and stable man to be there. He provided such a beautiful foundation for me to be a little girl.”

But despite going their separate ways romantically, Julianne notes a silver lining to their marriage. “We are very important, special people in each other’s live and we shared a really powerful season together,” she said. “I know that I also brought a lot of things to his life that he shared with me also and so it has definitely felt like a mutual respect and love and period of growth for both of us.”