Dancing With the Stars alum Julianne Hough and former NHL player Brooks Laich announced
their separation on May 29, 2020, after three years of marriage.
The exes, who wed in July 2017, said in a joint statement to People,
"We have lovingly and carefully taken the time we have needed to arrive at our decision
to separate. We share an abundance of love and respect for one another and will continue
to lead with our hearts from that place. We kindly request your compassion and respect
for our privacy moving forward."
News of the split came amid speculation that the two were on shaky ground. Not only did
Hough and Laich quarantine separately during the coronavirus pandemic, but they appeared
to be taking long stretches apart in the last year of their marriage.
During an April 2020 Instagram Live broadcast for Oprah Magazine, Hough revealed,
"I've been on my own. My husband is in Idaho doing lots of yard work. And so we're kind
of doing our separate things right now, but it's really been a magical time."
Now that the breakup is official, some fans are wondering what went wrong. Well, even
celebrities' lives can be complicated. It appears a lot of factors were at play.
Hough and Laich's loving statement on their sad breakup seems to suggest the two aren't
at odds with one another. A source backed this sentiment up to People, insisting that
there wasn't a salacious reason for the split. According to that source's statement,
"There is honestly no ill will. He loves her. She loves him. I can truly say they always
will. But they both understand they are not meant to go through their lives as husband
and wife to each other."
But in case you think that might leave room for reconciliation, well, don't get your hopes
up. That source also made one thing perfectly clear, saying:
"It's over, it's been over for a while, and it's time to just call it what it is, and
it is over."
The insider explained how Hough has simply grown and changed as a person in significant
ways since she got married, revealing differences between her and her ex-husband that didn't
use to be so obvious. The source added,
"She is proud of those differences and changes she's made and she doesn't want to go back.
He is the man he is and he shouldn't change a thing. But they shouldn't spend the rest
of their lives together, not as spouses, anyway."
Although it's sad to see these two go their separate ways, the good news is there are
no hard feelings. As the People source put it,
"It took them a while to get here, but now they both understand that and they are hoping
to move forward as deeply loving friends forever who will always be supportive and encouraging
of one another."
It seems that in the near future, the former lovers-turned-friends might be on their own
parallel journeys of self-exploration.
Back in August 2019, Julianne Hough talked to Women's Health about a conversation she
had with Laich about her own sexuality. She explained to the outlet,
"I [told him], 'You know I'm not straight, right?' And he was like, 'I'm sorry what?”
I was like, 'I'm not. But I choose to be with you.'"
The dancer commended her husband's reaction at the time, sharing,
"I was connecting to the woman inside that doesn't need anything, versus the little girl
that looked to him to protect me. 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."
As for Laich, he has also been on a journey of exploration, as he explained during a January
2020 discussion on his How Men Think podcast, which he co-hosts with Gavin DeGraw. As he
put it during one discussion, a big part of his own personal journey in 2020 is exploring
his sexuality, as it pertains to the ways he navigates intimate relationships.
"I mean, like, in my sexual relationship, what is my sexuality? What am I craving, what
are my desires and what are my wife's?"
It sounds like both Laich and Hough went through an intense period of reflection and change.
It's definitely possible their journeys led them to different places, and that's OK.
There's a lot of mystery surrounding Hough and Laich's marriage, and it sounds like they
seemingly hid a lot from their loved ones. A source told E! News.
"Julianne and Brooks haven't had a conventional relationship for a while. The couple has never
aired their grievances or spoke negatively to their friends and family about each other.
Even when they isolated separately, they choose to deal with their relationship issues privately,
until recently."
Hough also appeared fond of sharing cryptic posts on social media, which deepened the
speculation about her marriage. She captioned one Instagram post in April 2020,
"There have been some super intense highs and then the pendulum must swing to the intense
lows....Staying true to the path and gradually settling in. Giving myself permission to take
the space and time to find my way back to the middle."
Despite being open about their sex lives, it looks like these two kept whatever personal
problems they might have had on the DL. If there were any deeper issues to the split,
only time will tell if they'll ever share them with the public.
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