Julianne Hough opened up about her relationship with husband, Brooks Laich, in the September issue of Women’s Health. She said,

“I was connecting to the woman inside that doesn’t need anything, versus the little girl that looked to him to protect me. I was like, ‘Is he going to love this version of me?’

The more I dropped into my most authentic self, the more attracted he was to me. I [told him],

‘You know I’m not straight, right?’ And he was like, ‘I’m sorry, what?’ I was like, ‘I’m not. But I choose to be with you.”

Hough grew up in a strict Mormon community outside Salt Lake City alongside her brother and frequent collaborator Derek, and says she needed to work through some experiences from her childhood before coming to terms with her sexuality.

“I think there’s a safety with my husband now that I’m unpacking all of this, and there’s no fear of voicing things that I’ve been afraid to admit or that I’ve had shame or guilt about because of what I’ve been told or how I was raised.”

Hough was previously linked to country singer Chuck Wicks and Ryan Seacrest, whom she dated for three years until 2013.

Hough and Laich met in 2014 and were married in 2017 and haven’t been shy about the ups and downs of married life. In a candid conversation on Laich’s podcast they discussed how the advice of a sex coach saved their relationship and made them much closer.

(Photo, Avalon; via HuffPo)