Julianne Hough has shared more details about her three-year relationship with Ryan Seacrest.
On the Sunday, August 18 episode of Watch What Happens Live, Hough, 36, revealed to host Andy Cohen that their first date took place at the Polo Lounge, the renowned restaurant and bar at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard.
Although the venue is famous for celebrity sightings, Hough described their date as being “private.”
While she did not provide further details about their date or their relationship, Hough did recount her favorite first date memory. She reminisced about a romantic outing to Santa Monica Pier with someone whose identity she doesn’t clearly recall.
“Oh, this was really sweet,” Hough told Cohen, 56. “We did the Ferris wheel and we kissed.”
Hough’s comments about Seacrest follow her recent reflections on why their relationship ended.
In an interview on the Monday, August 12 episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Hough discussed her experience of dating the TV presenter from 2010 to 2013.
Shepard, 49, suggested that the relationship might have been exciting but also overwhelming.
Hough agreed, explaining, “That was exactly the dynamic. 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.”
At the time, Hough was starting to establish her own career, but she struggled with insecurity about being perceived as using Seacrest for his fame.
“I had this insecurity that I was like, ‘I don’t ever want anybody to think that I’m with him for this reason,’” she said.
“And so I then started playing smaller. I know that that was his experience in past situations and stuff, and so I again overcompensated, [I] was malleable to fit into exactly what somebody needed me to be for them to be happy.”
In addition to discussing Seacrest, Hough also talked about her ex-husband, former NHL player Brooks Laich. She became emotional as she reflected on Laich’s challenging final years in his career.
Hough mentioned, “He had a really rough last few years of his career. He was injured and then he got traded before his team that he had been there for almost 12 years won the Stanley Cup.
It makes me want to cry because I feel for him so bad.” She noted that their marriage began to unravel after they wed in 2017, with the couple announcing their separation in 2020.
On Watch What Happens Live, Hough also addressed how the public perceives her, noting that her varied career might be confusing to people.
“I think because I do so many different things, I’m a bit confusing,” she said. “People are like, ‘What does she do, does she dance, is she a singer, is she an actor, what does she do?’ But I think I’m a storyteller.
And I think by nature, everything that I do is storytelling whether it’s through my body or through my voice or through my acting.”
