Julianne Hough Explains Breakup with Ryan Seacrest

Julianne Hough has shared insights into her decision to end her relationship with Ryan Seacrest.

The dancer, who dated the American Idol host from 2010 to 2013, recently discussed the reasons behind their breakup on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. Hough explained that their differing levels of fame contributed significantly to their relationship struggles.

“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,” Hough said during the August 12 episode. “But then I had this insecurity that I was like, ‘I don’t ever want anybody to think that I’m with him for this reason.’”

The podcast host pointed out that people often believe she only appeared with Seacrest for personal attention. Hough acknowledged that the new Wheel of Fortune host did encounter people who “used him” for increased visibility. She became keenly aware of ensuring that such assumptions weren’t made about her.

“I overcompensated and was malleable to fit into exactly what somebody needed me to be for them to be happy,” she admitted. “And 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.”

The Footloose star elaborated: “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 everybody 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.”

Hough and Seacrest first met when she appeared on his radio show with her then-boyfriend Chuck Wicks. However, the two didn’t start dating until the summer of 2010. Three years later, Hough decided to end the relationship, prompting questions from those around her.

“I remember when I decided to break things off, I had a lot of these Brentwood moms and producers in that world who were like, ‘What are you doing?’” she recalled. “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.’”

After their relationship ended, Hough went on to marry hockey player Brooks Laich in 2017. She filed for divorce in 2020, and the process was finalized in 2022. Meanwhile, Seacrest split from model Aubrey Paige in April after three years of dating.

More recently, Hough mentioned that she had resolved an ongoing disagreement with her brother Derek Hough. This reconciliation occurred after Derek’s wife, Hayley Erbert, underwent an emergency cranioplasty last December. This surgical procedure involves repairing part of the skull following previous operations.

“Something happens and it just is like a clean slate. Especially with what just happened with Derek and Hayley, there could have been little things just kind of looming or lingering in the background, but when you’re left with life-or-death situations, nothing else matters,” she said in an interview with People. “Whatever little things of competition there are or whatever it might be, those things just go away.”