Why did Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich divorce? Split explored as Dancing with the Stars judge reacts to ex husband’s baby news

Multihyphenate entertainer Julianne Hough, a professional dancer turned actress who won Seasons 4 and 5 of Dancing With The Stars and was also a judge on the show, discussed her past relationships and her marriage to Brook Laich on the Armchair Expert podcast, hosted by Dax Shepard, last year.

The American TV personality Julianne Hough, in addition to appearing on popular reality shows, has also starred in mainstream movies like Footloose, Dirty Grandpa, Safe Haven, and more, alongside some of Hollywood's most prominent faces, such as Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Josh Duhamel, Cher, and Miles Teller. The 36-year-old dancer/actress, while talking about her past relationships, also talked about her failed marriage to Brooks Laich.

Hough met Laich, a former Canadian professional ice hockey player, for the first time in November 2013 and dated for a couple of years before they took to Instagram to break the news of their engagement in August 2015. Eventually, they got hitched on July 8, 2017, in an outdoor wedding ceremony that took place in Idaho's Lake Coeur d'Alene, where she spent her summer holidays growing up. Earlier, talking with People regarding the wedding venue, Hough said:

"When I introduced Brooks to the lake, he fell in love with this special spot, and we knew this was where we wanted to raise our family and grow old together. It just felt right to be married here."

However, while reflecting on her marriage to the professional ice hockey forward, Laich, dating him for six long years, then being in a three-year marriage, they separated in 2020 and finalized their divorce in 2022.

The primary reason behind their divorce was that they had different visions regarding their future. While Hough wanted to evolve and expand, Laich experienced contraction, which led to challenges concerning their relationship and created a communication gap. Besides that, both of them had different views about family.

While talking to Dax regarding her marriage to Brooks, Julianne said,

"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."

She then explained the dynamics they shared in their relationship and said,

"He was contracting while I was expanding."

And further added:

"We just couldn't find each other in that. We just went into our own protective modes. So we've definitely accepted what happened, but we're sad that it didn't work out because I've only dated great human beings."

Even after going their separate ways, Hough, regarding Laich, said:

"(Laich had) the greatest heart that I could've ever had the privilege of being with."

Is Brooks Laich dating again?

Brooks Laich, after the divorce from Julianne Hough, began dating Katrín Davíðsdóttir, an Icelandic former CrossFit athlete, in 2021. The Canadian hockey star and Icelandic athlete announced their engagement in December 2024. The couple revealed that they're expecting and are going to be parents soon, most likely in Fall 2025.

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The couple recently shared a picture of themselves on Instagram. Check out the Instagram post below:

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