In a new interview for Women’s Health Magazine, DWTS alum/America’s Got Talent judge Julianne Hough shares that she once told her husband, “You know I’m not straight, right?”
The revelation came amid a “massive transformation” period for the 31-year-old actress and dancer just four months after marrying hockey player Brooks Laich in July 2017.
In working to develop her own dance-based workout called Kinrgy (kin as in family and kinesthetic, plus energy), she felt more and more empowered and confident.
Hough says that confidence became transformative and cathartic in her life.
“I’ve been de-layering all the survival tactics I’ve built up my whole life,” she explains. “Now, I feel limitless.”
As her new-found confidence began to permeate other aspects of her life, she wondered if that might be a turn-off for her husband.
“I was connecting to the woman inside that doesn’t need anything, versus the little girl that looked to him to protect me,” Hough tells Women’s Health. “I was like, ‘Is he going to love this version of me?’ But the more I dropped into my most authentic self, the more attracted he was to me. Now we have a more intimate relationship.”
With that deeper intimacy came the courage to share some truths with Brooks.
“I [told him], ‘You know I’m not straight, right?’” says Hough.
“And he was like, ‘I’m sorry, what?’ I was like, ‘I’m not. But I choose to be with you.’”
It’s understandable that Hough would have some trepidation about opening up about her sexuality. She and her famous DWTS brother, Derek, were raised in the very anti-LGBTQ Mormon Church in Utah.
But today she finds ’safety’ in living authentically.
“I think there’s a safety with my husband now that I’m unpacking all of this, and there’s no fear of voicing things that I’ve been afraid to admit or that I’ve had shame or guilt about because of what I’ve been told or how I was raised.”
Hough also shares how she got over her fear of being naked as she posed for an extensive nude photoshoot for the ‘Naked Strength’ issue of Women’s Health.
She recently joined her hubby Brooks and his co-host Gavin DeGraw on their podcast, How Men Think, to discuss intimacy, sex and more.
“We have never been so specific, detailed and open about exactly what goes on in our relationship and our respective thoughts and approaches to intimacy and sex,” the former Los Angeles King forward told Closer Weekly about the podcast chat. “We give people our exact specifics, how we create intimacy, why it’s important to us and open up about our sex life.”
Audiences have grown to know Hough since 2007 when she was cast as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars. That was followed with the leading role in the 2011 film remake of Footloose.
In 2016, she played Sandy in the live Fox television production of Grease. And in 2019, she joined the reality TV series America’s Got Talent as a judge.
Oh boy, now she is grasping at straws to save what little career she has left and probably her marriage by pretending to be gay? What’s next, adopt a child from a third world country or do a Reality TV show? Oh wait, that’s how all this got created. Trust me, after working with her on set, this is clearly a publicist at work attempting to salvage the wreckage. Ms H can barely conjugate a verb, yet alone lead herself out of a closet. This is almost as tragic as her having to wear an ear piece so her manager can tell her what to say and do publicly. She would be nothing without her brother and have you noticed how much distance even he keeps from her? Why won’t she go away? Take your 7 million made from Reality TV and be gone already. “Authentic Self” – give me a break! Tell that to her hair extensions, makeup people who spend 2 hours getting her ready to be seen in public and clothing stylist who creates who look. She is the female version of Pinnoccio. Obviously, I am Not a fan of fake people. ((;
Meow!
I’m with you Lorelei!
Oh, shut up, Sandi. Your prejudices are showing. You wouldn’t be saying this if she said she was straight! People like you think non-straight people should “keep it to themselves.” In other words. Keep it in the closet. Like there’s something wrong with them. There isn’t.
You also said people don’t care. Wrong again. Kids need to hear this. Obviously you cared enough to read the entire article even though the title says it all.
Small minded bitch.
I do not think that a person’s sexuality should be a public event. Be what you want, do whatever makes you happy. People will look at you, still admire your talent without knowing your personal and most intimate lifestyle. Fine that your husband should know, but not the world. Really, nobody cares.