Julianne Hough Sets the Record Straight on Apolo Ohno Dating Rumors
So apparently being crowned Dancing With the Stars champ doesn’t stop the gossip mill. Julianne Hough, now 36 and co-hosting the hit show, finally addressed whispers that she and her 2007 dance partner, Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno, were more than just pros gliding across the floor. On the June 20 episode of Owen Thiele’s In Your Dreams podcast, Julianne laughed off the decade-old speculation. “I remember being on the show and it was like a whole new universe,” she told Thiele, clarifying, “Everybody thought I was hooking up with my partner Apolo. Never in a million years.” The pair’s flawless routine led them straight to the Season 4 trophy, a moment Julianne later celebrated on Instagram as “one of the best times of my life.” Despite the heat of competition and the close quarters of rehearsal studios, she insists their collaboration was strictly professional and that she was “so mature as a kid” who “had a job to do.”
Her latest clarification comes on the heels of fresh dating chatter involving Bachelorette alum Tanner Courtad, with whom she was seen grabbing dinner in Los Angeles last December. That sighting arrived two years after her divorce from former NHL star Brooks Laich was finalized, but Julianne hasn’t confirmed anything official beyond friendship vibes. Instead, she’s been steering the conversation toward her personal growth and health. In early June, she shared on Instagram how she’s tackled fertility preservation—freezing her eggs for the third time amid endometriosis struggles and a ticking personal timeline. The candid IVF video, complete with injection shots, was captioned: “If sharing just a small piece of my journey helps someone feel less alone…then I feel like it’s worth it.”
Fans have also tuned in to Julianne’s emotional recounting of her late Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Lexi and Harley, on an August 2024 episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show. The pups were tragically killed by coyotes in September 2019, a loss she described as “a love I’ll never forget.” She revealed she’s since welcomed Sunny into her home, calling her new fur baby the healing she needed.
Meanwhile, her split from Brooks Laich first surfaced in May 2020, with their divorce wrapping up under two years later. Back then, Julianne was juggling career changes—including prepping her KINRGY brand for Oprah Winfrey’s 2020 tour—and abrupt personnel switches behind the scenes. Through it all, she’s come out the other side, more open about her own evolution and ready to squash any lingering dance-floor romance rumors. Cool, so like, there it is. Judge accordingly.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! Online, Owen Thiele’s In Your Dreams podcast, The Jamie Kern Lima Show, Julianne Hough’s Instagram
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
