Julianne Hough: Trapped in a Bad Marriage?
JULIANNE HOUGH AND BROOKS LAICH’S LONG-TROUBLED UNION MAY BE ON ITS LAST LEGS.
The Dancing With the Stars alum’s rocky relationship with husband Brooks Laich is on its last legs.
FROM the moment she first went public with her romance with Brooks Laich in 2014, Julianne Hough eagerly shared every chapter of their love story on social media, from their whirlwind engagement just six months later to their gorgeous outdoor wedding in 2017. Even last August, when she shockingly revealed that she was “not straight” — and, by extension, that her picture-perfect marriage was not all it seemed to be — Julianne was relentlessly upbeat, gushing that her handsome exhockey-pro husband was “the most supportive person ever.”
So when she suddenly stopped posting pictures of their wedded bliss in recent months — her last one of Brooks is from mid-August — fans began to fear the worst. And with good reason: “Julianne and Brooks were Hollywood’s golden couple, but something’s changed,” an insider tells Star. “It’s not just that they’ve hit a few roadblocks. They’re not in a good place, and their marriage may be hanging by a thread.”
ODD COUPLE
As it turns out, the pair may have been mismatched from the start. Brooks, 36, fell in love with the Dancing With the Stars alum, 31, “even before he met her,” the pal dishes. “Julianne was his dream girl, and he just went along with everything she wanted.” But their temperaments weren’t exactly in sync — especially when it came to talking about their private lives. Julianne had already gone public with their fertility problems
child through IVF treatments last July. when she dropped the bombshell revelation about her sexuality. “She’s an open book, and for her nothing is off-limits,” the source adds. “Brooks was on board in the beginning, but now he seems to be suffering from TMI overload. Julianne just shares way too much.” Diverging career paths may also be driving a wedge between them. Julianne — whose Holidays With the Houghs TV special with brother Derek aired Dec. 16 — has gone from success to success: She became a DWTS judge in 2014, starred in 2016’s live TV version of Grease and recently appeared in Netflix’s anthology series Heartstrings. Meanwhile, Brooks, whose contract with the Los Angeles Kings was terminated in late 2017, has been on thin ice. “Technically, he’s a free agent, but his glory days are over,” says the insider. “More and more, he’s taking a back seat to Julianne — and that can work for only so long.”
BEYOND SAVING
The relationship took another hit last month, when Julianne’s contract at America’s Got Talent, the long-running show she joined in February, wasn’t renewed. “Life’s crazy, and sometimes you can’t control things,” Julianne later said, staying uncharacteristically vague. “When obstacles come your way, you have to be graceful about it.”
That philosophy could also apply to her rocky union. “Julianne and Brooks are already living separate lives,” says the insider. “They’ve had many ups and downs and have tried their best to stay together. But this time even their closest friends don’t think they can last. They’re definitely at a crossroads.”★