Julianne Hough’s Failed Relationships and Addiction Struggles

Julianne Hough hinted at the real reason her past relationships have failed.

The Dancing with the Stars vet, 36 — who is slated to release a sci-fi novel — opened up about her time with ex Ryan Seacrest, 49, and ex-husband Brooks Laich, 41, while on the Armchair Expert podcast on Monday. 

She gushed over her whirlwind romance with Seacrest, explaining that she was head-over-heels for the TV host and experienced ‘things I didn’t even know existed’ during their three year fling that started in 2010. 

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‘I would imagine it would be so exciting and so privileged and so romantic and then also I would feel like I was losing myself to all of that,’ host Dax Shepard asked her. 

Julianne responded: ‘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.’

Julianne Hough hinted at the real reason her past relationships have failed, on Monday; seen in 2024

The Dancing with the Stars vet, 36, opened up about her time with ex Ryan Seacrest, 49, and ex-husband Brooks Laich, 41, while on the Armchair Expert podcast; Ryan and Julianne seen in 2012

She admitted, ‘I had this insecurity that I was like, “I don’t ever want anybody to think that I’m with him for this reason.” And so I then started playing smaller. I know that that was his experience in past situations and stuff, and so I again overcompensated, [I] was malleable to fit into exactly what somebody needed me to be for them to be happy.’

The Footloose actress then explained that she was unsure if she had ever experienced love at all, despite having been in multiple public relationships. 

‘What I’ve realized over the years is I don’t know if I’ve ever truly been in love with someone, but I have loved the feeling of being loved — and so let me be what that needs to be so that I can be loved. 

‘And then because I’m so filled with love from someone, of course I love you. I love everyone. I’ve been in love with everyone I’ve ever dated, but have I? I don’t want to overanalyze it, because every person I’ve also dated has been a very good person,’ she added. 

The starlet then got candid about feeling ‘so oblivious’ and ‘disassociated’ during their 2010 to 2013 relationship, but realized that she and Seacrest’s careers drifted them apart. 

‘I had no idea that was, like, a repeated pattern. Eventually, I remember when I decided to break things off, I had a lot of these Brentwood moms and producers in that world that were like, “What are you doing?” And I was like, “What do you mean?” They’re like, “Your life is completely set up.” And I was like, “But I didn’t build it.” I was like, “I need to create this. Competitively, it’s not mine. I need to feel the pride of doing it.”‘ 

But her relationship with the American Idol alum was not the only high profile love that she struggled with.  

She gushed over her whirlwind romance with Seacrest, explaining that she was head-over-heels for the TV host and experienced ‘things I didn’t even know existed’ during their three year fling that started in 2010; Ryan and Julianne seen in 2013

She said, ‘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’; Ryan and Julianne seen in 2012

 ‘What I’ve realized over the years is I don’t know if I’ve ever truly been in love with someone, but I have loved the feeling of being loved,’ she admitted; Ryan and Julianne seen in 2013

Later in the podcast Julianne opened up her five year marriage to NHL star Brooks Laich, 41, and the ‘orange flags’ she missed prior to saying ‘I do’ in 2017.

She explained that things started going downhill when the former hockey player ‘had a really tough last few years’ before quitting the sport for good in 2018. 

‘He was injured and then he got traded before his team that he had been there for almost 12 years won the Stanley Cup,’ she said while getting emotional. ‘It makes me want to cry because I feel for him so bad.

‘That was in 2017. That was the year we got married and the year that everything started unraveling,’ she said somberly.

In September 2019, she asked the Canadian for a separation and just a week later, her dogs Lexi and Harley passed away — making her lose control.

‘Everything that I had ever known, that I had put in place for my control and my protection … I had this marriage to this guy who represented more of a father figure to me, and while he was changing, I was changing. I [felt like] I literally blew up my entire life and I have nothing,’ she shared. 

Even though she had suffered the grief from her crumbling marriage and the loss of her furry friends, she has come to terms with it all.

‘I feel like our relationship and our marriage was exactly right, and the end of it is right, too. We both have regrets that it didn’t work out, because I don’t think we had the maturity to come together. He was contracting while I was expanding. We just couldn’t find each other in that,’ she said.

‘I’ve only dated great human beings,’ she assured the host. ‘[Brooks has] got the greatest heart that I could have ever had the privilege of being with.’

Later on in the episode, the spoke candidly of how the entertainment industry led her into an ‘addiction loop.’

Julianne opened up her five year marriage to NHL star Brooks Laich, 41, and the ‘orange flags’ she missed prior to saying ‘I do’ in 2017; Brooks and Julianne seen in 2019

‘That was in 2017. That was the year we got married and the year that everything started unraveling,’ she said somberly; Julianna and Brooks seen in 2019

‘I’ve only dated great human beings,’ she assured the host. ‘[Brooks has] got the greatest heart that I could have ever had the privilege of being with’; Brooks and Julianne seen in 2018

The older sister of dancer Derek Hough has battled various addictions in her life, but she really became aware of the issue when she moved into the movie business.

Julianne — who had her first major film role in 2010’s Burlesque — admitted during the podcast: ‘When I started the movies, I ended up figuring this out a few years ago. But my addictive loop, Nicorette gum was part of it, alcohol was part of it, diet pills was a part of it and online shopping. The loop.

‘It would be like a long period of time, and then it got shorter and shorter and shorter over like a span of 12 years,’ she shared.

But the Utah native ultimately felt the ‘biggest sense of relief, not shame’ when the reality dawned on her.

The blonde beauty explained: ‘It was like, “Oh my God. Thank God I figured this out because that had so much control over me.” I got it in a way where it was more binging vs. nonstop so I could hide that so easily and justify it.’

The actress also shared that she had her first drink as a child.

Julianne — who had her first major film role in 2010’s Burlesque — admitted: ‘When I started the movies… my addictive loop, Nicorette gum was part of it, alcohol was part of it, diet pills was a part of it and online shopping; seen in 2010

The actress also shared that she had her first drink as a child; seen in 2010

However, Julianne really began to drink heavily, and often, at the start of her music career; seen in 2014

She recalled: ‘My first drink was at 11. It was Baileys Irish Cream.’

However, Julianne really began to drink heavily, and often, at the start of her music career.

The Harden My Heart singer shared: ‘When I started doing country music, everybody drinks on tour, so then I would drink a little bit.

‘The reason I fell off the stage at that [2008] show, we were in Napa and we had done a wine tour that day. Then, like always, we would do a shot before we go on, and it just mixed wrong,’ she finished.