Former Dancing with the Stars pro and judge Julianne Hough has the cutest relationship with NHL player, Brooks Laich, and she isn’t afraid to show it off! Latch, who plays hockey for the Washington Capitals, started dating Hough in December 2013 and they recently tied the knot in July 2017. Since these two like to keep a relatively low profile (aside from their SDA: social media display of affection), here’s a look at 10 things you probably didn’t know about their relationship!
10. How They Met
Julianne Hough met Brooks Laich after she went to a six-day seminar with her family on how to create your own destiny. It was a totally eye-opening experience for her. “I was not into it at first, but I learned so much about myself and why my relationships didn’t work that by the end I was on a high,” said Hough in an interview with Redbook back in 2014. When she got back from the trip, she ended several relationships with people she’d been casually dating at the time. “The next day, my Curve co-star introduced [Brooks and me]. It couldn’t have been a better time. We’ve been open and honest from day one,” she said.
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9. They Have Two Different Stories About Why They Were Set Up
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Hough said her friend Teddy Sears, who she was working with on a never-released horror film, set her up with Laich because he’d previously joked about meeting her. She said: “My co-star tried to invite Brooks – who was a good friend of his – to visit him in L.A. Brooks, who knows nothing about pop culture, joked, ‘What are you going to do – hook me up with that Juicy Fruit starlet?’ He’d seen the commercial and was like, ‘Where do I meet a girl like that?’ I was the girl in the commercial!” Brooks, on the other hand, recounts the story differently. In an interview with 106.7 he said they were set up because, when Sears asked Julianne if she was seeing anyone and said no, he was watching Brook’s play hockey on Game Center on his iPad. “I guess he just showed her the iPad and said, ‘Well I’ve got a guy for you,’ or something,” said Brooks.
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8. How Julianne Knew Brooks was ‘The One’
When talking to ET at the SHAPE Body Shop event back in 2016, the former Dancing with the Stars judge gushed about her then-fiance and how she knew he was the one for her. “I mean, I’ve never really been the person to think about ‘when you know you know.’ But it was just kinda just that. When we first met each other we were like, ‘And we’re done,'” she said.
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7. Family Approval
When Julianne and Brooks got engaged, her brother Derek Hough told People that he wasn’t at all surprised the two were going to be headed down the aisle. “I knew it was happening within the first month they were dating. It was one of those things where it was instant and that smile and glow she’s had hasn’t dimmed ever since she met [him]. That’s a special thing,” he said. Derek also revealed that he and Brooks have hung out a number of times and that he was asked to be one of his groomsmen. He went on to call Brooks an old-fashioned guy since he asked their father’s permission before proposing.
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6. Brooks ‘Officially’ Asked to be her Boyfriend
On the same note, when discussing how traditional Brooks, Derek also revealed that Brooks even formally asked Julianne if he could be her boyfriend. “He’s a very traditional guy. I think I recall after they were seeing each other for a couple of months, he actually asked her, ‘So can I be your boyfriend?’ And she was like ‘Wait, I thought you already were.’ And he said ‘No, we have to do this officially.’ He’s a traditional guy,” said Derek.
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5. Making Long Distance Work
Both Julianne and Brooks have extremely demanding careers that require them to be apart for long periods of time. In an interview with People, Julianne was not shy about sharing how they get through their long bouts of distance! She admitted they’ve had a few phone sex sessions. “Oh, for sure. But I’m really bad at it…I’ll get halfway through and start laughing. It’s an art. I applaud people who are good at it. They need to come and help me keep a straight face!” said Hough.
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4. Supportive of One Another
One of the reasons their relationship is so successful is because Brooks and Julianne are totally supportive of each other. “It’s cool because we’re in two different professions. It’s fun to be able to learn about the other’s profession. I think that’s how we support, like, going to each other’s games or performances, and talking about it afterwards. ‘What was going on? What was that move? How come that person didn’t score the goal?’ He’ll teach me about it. I don’t know much about his sport but I’m able to learn…It’s fun. It’s really fun,” she said to ET.
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3. Starting a Family
Whenever a couple gets married, it doesn’t take long for people to start asking about children. Julianne isn’t afraid to admit that she and Brooks would like to one day start a family. “That’s kind of been our mindset for a long time, but one step at a time. I mean, I’m sure once it actually starts happening I’ll be like, ‘Wait, what?!’ My sister — she’s in town with her family and she has six kids. So that’s a lot of practice already,” she said to ET. In the meantime, Julianne and Brooks have their two puppies, Lexi and Harley.
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2. They Workout Together
You know what they say, couples who work out together stay together! Okay, maybe not, but this is certainly the case for Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich! Two are both incredibly fit and it might have something to do with the fact that they love to workout together! “He has these beach out workouts every Monday and Thursday…And it’s so fun because it’s not the way I would personally work out, but it’s fun to get different experiences and different ways of working out. It’s fun to hang out and push each other and also kind of show him I can keep up with a professional athlete,” she said.
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1. What Makes This Relationship Different
Not long before Julianne met Brooks, she’d been linked to Ryan Seacrest, and even admitted to casually dating several men prior to meeting her now-husband. In a 2014 interview with Redbook, she explained why this relationship is so much different than any of her past flings. “Every relationship, there was nothing wrong or bad, but there was nothing right. I had one foot out because I didn’t want to get hurt. And I didn’t say what was on my mind because I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers. I needed to be perfect. Now I’m not holding anything back because I’d rather get my heart broken than never know what it is to be completely, madly in love,” she said.