Julianne Hough is opening up about a painful chapter in her life that included the tragic 2019 loss of her two dogs.
”I had asked for a separation” from then-husband Brooks Laich, The Dancing With the Stars cohost said on the latest episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show, ”and then 10 days later my dogs were killed by coyotes.”
The loss couldnt have come at a worse time, she said. ”It was right at the time I was getting ready to launch [fitness program] KINRGY on tour with Oprah [Winfrey]...which is all about helping people connect to themselves and living their most expanded free self.” Hough was also ”breaking up” with a former assistant and separating from Laich ”because somethings not working.” Then finally, ”My dogs that represented unconditional love and safety — gone. Im like, Whoa, what am I doing? Im blowing up my life.”
This is the second part of Limas three-part interview series with Hough. In part one, Hough revealed she had been sexually abused by a neighbor when she was 4 years old. Hough claimed shes ”not the only one in my family that had gone through similar things,” and that in her case, ”nobody did anything.” 
Hough recalled that the day of her dogs death, she woke up before my phone even rang, and I knew. And I picked up the phone and my assistant at the time was just screaming.
I’ve never had coyotes in my yard, I have gates and everything," she explained. Though at the time the tragedy felt like the unraveling of absolute s
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Jamie-Kern-Lima-Show-Julianne-Hough-082624-2-e3bce382d4b44a65b3b1241b82f2e210.jpg)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Jamie-Kern-Lima-Show-Julianne-Hough-082624-1-abc4118f4f69421fa78338ef842815c9.jpg)
Julianne Hough on the Jamie Kern Lima Show.
Courtesy of The Jamie Kern Lima Show
Julianne Hough reveals which Dancing With The Stars winner didn’t deserve to take home the Mirrorball
Sign up for Entertainment Weeklys free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Hough is getting ready to cohost Dancing With the Stars for the second time, after first appearing on the series 17 years ago as a pro. She won seasons 4 and 5 back to back with celebrity partners Apolo Ohno and Hélio Castroneves, and after five seasons dancing, returned as a guest judge and then a full judge. She replaced Tyra Banks as host in season 32.
Julianne Hough on the Jamie Kern Lima Show.
Courtesy of The Jamie Kern Lima Show
Julianne Hough says she and brother Derek Hough put aside differences amid his wife’;s health emergency
What the tumultuous period taught Hough is that change is loss.She explained: Going through any kind of loss is painful, even if it is the right thing. And so as that was happening, I was just experiencing pain out of a decision that I felt like was the right thing for me. And also they were experiencing pain, so that was just really painful.
Hough closed out the interview on a triumphant note, however, saying I’m sitting here being like, Wow, I don’t have my dogs here. Don’t have a partner. Don’;t have cash. Don’t have a credit card. I don’t know these people...[but] I’ve never felt more stable. I’ve never felt more secure. I’ve never felt more consistent.... And I’ve never felt more loved by the people around me.
Dancing With the Stars will return for season 33 on Sept. 17. While a cast announcement has not yet been made, Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Hough’s brother Derek will fill the judge’;s panel, with Hough co-hosting alongside Alfonso Ribiero.
