Julianne Hough reflects on ‘vulnerable’ coming out journey

Julianne Hough She had a “wonderful epiphany” and came to understand that she was “not heterosexual.”

“We got married [at the time]Hough, 36, recently “Jamie Kahn Lima” Podcast, mentioning her then-husband Brooks Reich“Coming out is one of the most vulnerable yet empowering things you can do. For me, it’s not about being straight, gay or queer, it’s more about learning what love is and loving people.”

of Dancing with the Stars The pro-turned-host admitted that at first she “didn’t know what was going on.” [she’s] Though he was “attracted,” he chose to be with Laich, now 41.

“It’s this freedom of love that I started to experience by interacting with people, because I was able to let down some of my defenses instead of internalizing,” she said. “So I started interacting with people and seeing their heart and their beauty and their essence. I thought, ‘Wow, I love people. I don’t know if it’s sexual attraction or this attraction, but I’m just interacting with people.’ It was such a beautiful revelation.”

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Huff made the announcement in a September 2019 profile. Women’s Healthpointing out that she told Laich that she was “not straight.” In January 2020, Laich exclusively told Us Weekly Huff’s “beautiful” descriptions have inspired him to be a better person and he has always embraced her “heart.”

“I’ve always loved people, but I never just sat back and looked at them and saw their true essence and their beauty,” Hough told host Jamie Kahn Lima earlier this month. “It wasn’t just an exchange of fun energy. … I started connecting with them when I was 28 years old. [or] Now that I’m 29, I’ve learned to see other people the same way.”

Seeing into the “soul” of an individual allowed Huff to unlock new emotions. “Things started happening,” she recalls. “I started experiencing this beautiful connection with people. I’d be sitting down having a conversation, and they’d be thinking about their black and white dog, and the number 12 would come up. I’d say, ‘You had a black and white dog when you were 12?’ and they’d be like, ‘What? How did you know that?'”

Huff then felt inspired to explore a “wild journey” of curiosity.

Related: Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich: The Real Thing

Dance through life! Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich only had eyes for each other from 2014 to 2020. Former Dancing with the Stars pro Curve co-star Teddy Sears introduced the couple in December 2013, but the actor had been trying to bring them together long before that. “On set, apparently he […]

“I wanted to understand different ways to be more connected to myself and trust myself more,” Huff said. “As I was going through that process and shedding all of this stuff, my ex-boyfriend had just been fired from his hockey career. [an] “Change in identity”

According to Huff, she and Reich had disagreements and [their] (Hough and Laich separated in May 2020 and their divorce was finalized two years later.)

“We’ve had this discussion now and I wish we’d come together with more maturity,” Huff said, “and things could have turned out differently, but I think everything happened the way it should have happened.”