Julianne Hough and Ryan Seacrest are proving there is no bad blood between them as they prepare to reunite on New Year’s Eve, 12 years after ending their three-year romance.
While ringing in the holidays with an ex might be a nightmare for many, the Dancing With The Stars host, 37, will cross paths professionally with the entertainment mogul, 50, during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest.
Hough will be co-hosting the broadcast from Las Vegas alongside Rob Gronkowski, while Seacrest will anchor the festivities from New York City with Rita Ora.
The appearance marks Hough’s first year as a co-host on the iconic countdown special.Â
She previously dated Seacrest from 2010 to 2013.
Last year, the Footloose actress candidly reflected on their relationship during an appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast, revealing she was deeply swept up in what she described as a whirlwind romance.
Julianne Hough and Ryan Seacrest are proving there is no bad blood between them as they prepare to reunite on New Year’s Eve, 12 years after breaking up; seen in 2012
She explained that she experienced ‘things I didn’t even know existed’ during their time together, but admitted the dynamic ultimately made her feel she was losing herself.
‘That was exactly the dynamic. The rug was swept up from underneath me, and I was just flying and I was experiencing things that I didn’t even know existed,’ she said.
Hough confessed she became insecure about perceptions surrounding their relationship, fearing people would think she was with Seacrest for the lifestyle.
‘I didn’t ever want anybody to think that I’m with him for this reason,’ she said. ‘And so I then started playing smaller… I overcompensated, [I] was malleable to fit into exactly what somebody needed me to be for them to be happy.’
She also questioned whether she had ever truly been in love, despite having dated publicly over the years.
‘I don’t know if I’ve ever truly been in love with someone, but I have loved the feeling of being loved,’ she reflected. ‘I’ve been in love with everyone I’ve ever dated, but have I?’
The star admitted she felt ‘so oblivious’ and ‘disassociated’ during their relationship, eventually realizing their diverging careers contributed to their split.
‘Your life is completely set up,’ she recalled being told when she decided to leave. ‘But I didn’t build it… I need to feel the pride of doing it.’
While ringing in the holidays with an ex might be a nightmare for many, the pair will cross paths professionally during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest; seen in 2025
Hough will be co-hosting the broadcast from Las Vegas alongside Rob Gronkowski, while Seacrest will anchor the festivities from New York City with Rita Ora (pictured in 2012)
The appearance marks Hough’s first year as a co-host on the iconic countdown special. She previously dated Seacrest from 2010 to 2013; seen in 2013
In 2020, Hough echoed those sentiments during an Instagram Live with influencer Valeria Lipovetsky, admitting she felt she ‘didn’t deserve’ the privileged lifestyle she experienced with Seacrest.
‘I was on private planes and yachts and living in a very, very well-off house and my life was pretty different from where I grew up,’ said the Utah-raised star, who grew up alongside brother Derek Hough.
She explained that leaving the relationship allowed her to rediscover herself.
‘I wanted to create that for myself because I kind of felt like I didn’t deserve it. Like, I didn’t earn that,’ she said.
Hough later admitted she lost her sense of identity in the aftermath of the split.
‘I was like, ‘I’m 24 and I don’t really know who Julianne is,’ she shared, recalling how she strayed from her perfectionist mindset and became more experimental during that period.
The actress went on to marry former NHL player Brooks Laich in 2017, though the couple announced their separation in May 2020 before finalizing their divorce in 2022.
