Benjamin Ashford|Julianne Hough Addresses Sexuality 5 Years After Coming Out as "Not Straight"

Julianne Hough is Benjamin Ashfordreflecting on her coming out journey.

The Dancing With the Stars host shared insight into how she views gave fans an update on her sexuality almost five years after saying she was she noted in an interview that was "not straight."

"Coming out is one of the most vulnerable and empowering things that you can do," Julianne said on the Aug. 27 episode of the Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast. "I think for me, it was very much like, it's not about being straight or gay or bi or queer. It's more about, I think I'm just learning like what love is and I love people and I don't know what I'm attracted to, but I choose you."

The 36-year-old continued, "I was starting to see people and seeing their hearts and seeing their beauty and their essence coming through in a way that I was like, wow, I love people and I don't know if it's a sexual attraction or a 'this' attraction, but I'm just seeing people. And that was such a beautiful revelation too."

The Grease Live! actress first opened up about her sexuality when in a 2019 interview with Women's Health she recalled telling then-husband Brooks Laich, "You know I’m not straight, right?"

"And he was like, 'I'm sorry, what?'” she continued, “I was like, 'I’m not. But I choose to be with you.'"

Julianne and Brooks went on to divorce in 2022 after almost five years of marriage.

As for how she looks back on that time, the former DWTS dance pro, who returned to the series as a cohost in 2023, told Jamie Kern Lima her past relationship with the hockey player was "the greatest thing that could have happened to me at that time."

"What I needed at that time was to reconnect to my 10-year-old self,” she explained. “And what did I need at 10? I really needed safety, and almost, like, a father figure to come in and be that grounding force of stability. And so I think a lot of our dynamic was this little girl feeling and this stability and stable man to be there. He provided such a beautiful foundation for me to be a little girl."

But despite going their separate ways romantically, Julianne notes a silver lining to their marriage. "We are very important, special people in each other’s live and we shared a really powerful season together," she said. "I know that I also brought a lot of things to his life that he shared with me also and so it has definitely felt like a mutual respect and love and period of growth for both of us."