Julianne Hough Makes Rare Comment About Her Breakup From Ryan Seacrest: ‘I Overcompensated’

Exes Julianne Hough and Ryan Seacrest are amicable, but the Dancing With the Stars cohost admitted that the frenzy surrounding their breakup wasn’t an easy pill to swallow. During an episode of Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast on Monday, August 12, the professional dancer opened up about the reason behind their split and the aftermath.

Though they had met years prior during an episode of his radio show, Julianne, 36, and Ryan, 49, didn’t start dating until 2010. At the time, the DWTS pro skyrocketed to fame with a role in Burlesque, and later snagged roles in Footloose and Rock of Ages. While her celebrity status was on the rise, Ryan’s career also continued to thrive in the entertainment space. Julianne explained that she did not want anyone to think that she was “using” Ryan for his fame.

“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,” she said. “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 Safe Haven actress went on to explain that to this day, she does not want anyone to think that she went into her relationship with Ryan with poor intentions.

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

“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 wanna overanalyze it because every person I’ve also dated has been a very good person,” Julianne added.

The American Idol host and Julianne called it quits on their relationship in 2013. But many were shocked by the news of their split.

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

Julianne went on to marry Brooks Laich in 2017. But sadly, their marriage didn’t work out. Their divorce was finalized in 2022. However, she admitted that she had some regrets about the demise of their relationship.

“It wasn’t right. That can be a hard thing to fully accept,” she said during the podcast. “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. He was contracting while I was expanding. We just couldn’t find each other in that.”