From a strenuous education to working through a serious illness,
Julianne Hough has been a proven fighter. These are some of the biggest struggles the dancer,
model, actress, and singer has had to face throughout her life and career.
Julianne Hough's childhood was far from picture-perfect. She began pursuing her
dance dreams at a young age and moved to London when she was just 10 years old to
study at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. When she got there, she joined her
brother and began studying dance, unaware of what a toll living abroad would take on her.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, the Dancing with the Stars star opened up
about the abuse she endured while on a five-year scholarship at the
top-notch school. While she didn't go into detail about her treatment,
she explained that she often felt trapped while studying at the school, influenced by the adults
who painted a depressing reality about her returning to the United States. She explained,
"I was told if I ever went back to the United States,
three things were going to happen. One: I was going to amount to nothing. Two:
I was going to work at Whataburger. And three: I was going to end up a s---."
Hough stuck out the difficult period in her life studying abroad, but it forced
her to grow up fast. She explained that the style of dance she focused on required her
to exude sensuality in her performances from an extremely young age, and while she managed
to put on a face throughout her education, internally she felt extremely deprived of love.
The immense amount of pressure Julianne Hough faced as a child may have taken a
toll on her mental health. She explained to People in 2019,
"I struggled with anxiety and depression growing up. I don't think a lot of people
would know that about me because I come off as sunshine and happiness and positivity."
The Safe Haven actor said that dance became a healthy outlet for her, providing her a
creative space to express herself and cope with her mental health struggles.
Hough also admitted to taking part in research alongside neuroscientist
Dr. Wendy Suzuki to uncover the positive links between dancing and the brain. The
pair even shared a panel at UCLA's 2019 The Wonder of Women Summit to discuss the topic.
In an effort to provide support for other kids struggling with mental health, she also paired
up with the Child Mind Institute for their Getting Better Together campaign in 2021.
The performer shared candid testimony about her own mental struggles growing up, and once
again highlighted dance as an integral part of what helped her heal and grow as an individual.
"For those of you watching right now, I think it's really important to know
that with vulnerability comes strength, and that the people around you will support you."
Hough has continued to be candid about her struggles in adulthood,
even sharing an Instagram Reel on March 6 with a caption that reads, in part,
"I'm not going to lie, healing is not easy. Just when you think you've reached the center
of the spiral, you realize there is another, even deeper layer that you didn't even know existed."
Julianne Hough endured some immense grief in 2019 when she lost both of
her dogs. The actor mourned the loss of her two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels,
Lexi and Harley after they passed away on the same day. Though she didn't specify how they died,
she took to Instagram to express her grief about her beloved pets' deaths.
She shared a post with many images of the dogs and a heartfelt caption celebrating
the immense love she felt for them and thanking them for all the joy they brought
her in life. Referring to the pups as her "daughters," she went on to compare her
dogs to "guardians," noting that she had never experienced such a constant love in her life.
Hough's then-husband, Brooks Laich, also took to social media to grieve his loss,
echoing Hough's sentiment that they loved the animals as if they were their own children.
Even Hough's brother Derek shared his condolences on social media. Giving a
little insight into the dogs' passing, he wrote in an Instagram post that they had a,
quote, "abrupt end" and that they would live on forever in their family's memory.
While trying to take her dancing to new heights, Julianne Hough has had
to endure some pretty costly injuries. In 2021, Hough took to Instagram to share a
clip from a number she performed during the 2019 NBC special Holidays With the Houghs,
in which she played the role of host and performed numerous dances alongside her brother Derek.
In the post's caption, Hough recalled that the first time she tried dancing with roller
skates she sustained a severe head injury after attempting a difficult trick. Even so,
she made it clear she would happily take on the challenge again if given the opportunity.
Evidently, her brother felt similarly, as he too sustained an injury while performing the special.
"And then the very first move of the special, I came out, and did, like,
a little James Brown split, and I ripped my hamstring."
The dance move in question was choreographed by Emmy award winner Tessandra Chavez,
and featured Hough and a partner on roller skates. The partner would hold her by her
ankles as he spun her around in circles, and the Dancing With The Stars star wrote
that it made for one of her favorite dance sequences in the entire special.
While Hough views the accident she had lightly, it wasn't the only time the dancer has sustained
injuries perfecting her craft. While she starred in Rock of Ages alongside Tom Cruise,
a musical number that involved her rapidly shaking her head side-to-side left her
with severe neck pain. She explained to Celebuzz the stiffness was so intense it
interfered with her breathing and prevented her from turning her head the following day.
Julianne Hough got candid about heartbreak after her split from Ryan Seacrest in 2013. Hough
and Seacrest were in a romantic relationship for three years after first meeting in 2010,
but Hough admitted she had her doubts when they started dating, telling InStyle in 2012,
"He is such an influential guy [...] Our first date, I was so nervous that I just sat there and
interviewed him with questions like, 'Are you loyal?' and 'Are you close to your family?'"
Hough's strict Mormon upbringing was a stark contrast to her newfound fame,
and her life got even more glamorous while dating Seacrest. The Footloose star told
Entertainment Tonight that being in such a publicly lavish relationship
with immense wealth and resources was radically different from her upbringing,
and moving on from that lifestyle required some serious adjustments on her part.
She elaborated that most of the people close to her while she was dating the American Idol host
were Seacrest's friends, and being only 24 at the time of their separation caused her to do
some intense personal reckoning. To cope, she and some old friends went to a music festival,
where she began a significant personal evolution as she entered the next stage of her life.
It's no secret that celebrities are under a great amount of pressure to look their best.
The intense scrutiny of the public eye can lead some A-listers to follow strict workout
regimens and hold themselves to high standards when it comes to body image. Julianne Hough
knows a thing or two about how wanting to succeed can take a toll on the body,
and she's been open about her own struggles with her self-image.
While her fitness level and strength have been showcased throughout her career in
musical numbers, the star admitted to Shape that she hasn't always been kind
to herself. She reflected that when she was in her late teens,
to get the body she wanted, she exercised almost three hours a day and barely ate.
She reflected that this state was certainly not optimal for her health or mental wellness,
and when she looks back at images of herself back then she doesn't
even like her appearance from that era. Hough went on to say that, these days,
she allows herself to indulge in junk food and has a particular affinity for pizza. She explained,
"I want everyone to know that I'm not Miss Perfect. You can cheat every once in a while,
and that's okay. You can still have a fit body as long as you
work out regularly and eat relatively healthfully throughout your life."
Dancing injuries have not been the only health complications Hough has faced in
her adult life. The professional dancer explained to Women's Health
that she battled endometriosis for years without knowing her diagnosis.
Hough revealed that she once experienced such terrible cramping during a taping of
Dancing with the Stars that she went to the emergency room. Endometriosis,
defined by the Mayo Clinic, is a, quote, "painful disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue
that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus." The
disorder often results in extremely painful menstrual periods and can affect fertility.
While Hough was diagnosed with endometriosis at 20, she dealt with symptoms years before
being diagnosed. She reflected that she started dealing with the symptoms of the disease at 15,
but assumed that she just had difficult periods. Unfortunately, as the pain persisted,
her competitive nature took over and she refused to visit a doctor about the issue,
instead deciding to work through the pain.
"I kept it to myself, and I didn't really talk about it 'cause this was just normal,
right? Wrong, it's not normal."
However, her unexpected ER visit led to follow-ups with gynecologists,
who eventually determined the cause of Hough's cramping.
Hough admitted she felt isolated at first following her diagnosis,
not knowing The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reports
that one out of 10 women of reproductive age also has the disorder. She eventually became
open about her symptoms, even getting candid about how endometriosis affects her sex life,
saying the pain can occasionally interfere with the act of sexual intercourse.
There are many comments celebrities wish they would have thought twice before making,
and Julianne Hough has a few of her own. The actor made a major faux pas while speaking to
host Mario Lopez on Extra in 2014. While discussing former Dancing with the Stars
contestant Jonathan Bennett, Hough told Lopez that the year before Bennett had complimented
her butt in a tweet. She then explained that, after trying to arrange a date with the former
contestant, she learned he was gay so their potential romance had no chance.
While it may have seemed like a cheeky, offhand comment in the moment, Bennett
had not publicly commented on his sexuality at the time the interview was taped. Bennett,
who played the heartthrob Aaron Samuels in the hit film Mean Girls, never responded to the slip-up.
The actor did, however, post a since-deleted tweet
afterward that may have been directed at Hough, writing,
"You've got to keep moving towards the goal, no matter what's in front of you."
About three years later, Bennett did open up about his sexuality
and went on to date television host Jaymes Vaughan. The couple dated for
five years before getting married in a beachside ceremony in Mexico in 2022.