Julianne Hough Reveals Real Reason Ryan Seacrest Romance Didn't Work

Julianne Hough isn't idolizing her past relationships.

The Dancing With the Stars host recently reflected on dating Ryan Seacrest from 2010 to 2013, explaining that part of the reason for their breakup was because Julianne wanted to create a career for herself outside of the relationship.

"I remember when I decided to break things off," she told Dax Shepard on his podcast Armchair Expert Aug. 12, "I had a lot of these Brentwood moms and producers in that world that were like, 'What are you doing?' And I was like, 'What do you mean?' They're like, 'Your life is completely set up.'"

But as the 36-year-old explained, she didn't feel like she'd built that life.

"Of course, I was like, 'I need to create this,'" she continued. "Competitively, it's not mine. I need to feel the pride of doing it.'"

And Julianne was also afraid those looking in on the relationship would think she was using the American Idol host for her own gain.

"I had this insecurity," she said, "that I was like, 'I don't ever want anybody to think that I'm with him for this reason.' And so I then started playing smaller."

But according to the dancer, Ryan had experienced that dynamic in his previous relationships, so Julianne wanted to "overcompensate," admitting she was "was malleable to fit into exactly what somebody needed me to be for them to be happy."

And looking back on her many of her relationships—including her marriage to hockey player Brooks Laich from 2017 to 2020—Julianne isn't sure if she's "ever truly been in love with someone."

"I have loved the feeling of being loved," she said. "And so let me be what that needs to be so that I can be loved. And then because I'm so filled with love from someone, of course I love you. I love everyone."

"I've been in love with everybody I've ever dated, but have I?" she continued. "I don't want to overanalyze it, because every person I've also dated has been a very good person."

The Burlesque actress has also previously discussed her emotions after she and Ryan split, noting how her life suddenly shifted.

"It was 2013 and I had just gotten out of a relationship that was very high profile," she said during a 2020 Instagram Live with Valeria Lipovetsky. "I was on private planes and yachts and living in a very, very well-off house and my life was pretty different from where I grew up."

And after their breakup, Julianne thinks she might have a gone a tad too far in trying new experiences.

"During that year, it was kind of my wild year of abandon and freedom and I realized that the pendulum swing went from one side to the extreme," she admitted. "I was like, 'OK, there's got to be something in the middle where I can find fulfillment without having to be so dynamic and extreme.'"

As for Ryan—who recently broke up with Aubrey Paige after three years of dating—the 49-year-old has talked before about how happy he is that he and Julianne maintained a friendly relationship after their split.

While interviewing her in 2022 for On-Air With Ryan Seacrest, Ryan explained that many "don't understand that concept that one can remain friends after a breakup."

"[Julianne] feels the same I do," he added. "There is nothing uncomfortable about it because we remained friends for years and still are."