Time to Revisit Julianne Hough’s Dating History for Some Seriously Hunky Reasons

Julianne Hough has graced our screens for nearly two decades thanks to her ties to Dancing With the Stars and projects like Safe Haven and Burlesque. For someone who’s been in the entertainment biz for a minute, Julianne has surprisingly kept her personal life under wraps. Well, for the most part.Aside from her music, dancing skills, and red carpet looks, the media personality has also made headlines for her rumored romances and high-profile relationships. (Because who could forget she dated Ryan Seacrest back in the day? Certainly not this writer who lived through it.)Anyway! As she interviews celebs in the DWTS sky box and joins them for numbers on the dance floor, you might be wondering who she’s romantically linked to these days. Ahead, find Julianne Hough’s full dating history, including some surprise rumors.Jump to:Zack Wilson: Childhood–2007Chuck Wicks: 2008–2009(Possibly) Dane Cook: 2010Ryan Seacrest: 2010–2013(Possibly) Ari Sandel: 2013Brooks Laich: 2013–2020Tanner Courtad: 2024Zack Wilson: Childhood–2007Before Julianne moved out to L.A. to be a pro on DWTS’s early seasons, she was romantically linked to her childhood sweetheart, Zack Wilson, who she had known since she was nine.“I was engaged to someone else, a guy I knew from Utah who had served a Mormon mission,” she said during a 2012 interview with Glamour, adding that he was “a great guy.”They ended up calling off their engagement in November 2007, and according to Julianne, it fizzled out because she was ~soul-searching.~“I needed to figure myself out more, and so I moved to L.A. and we ended it,” she shared, adding that he went on to marry and have a kid with her childhood best friend.“It was a little weird when it happened, but they’re a great couple!” she admitted.Chuck Wicks: 2008–2009Frederick M. Brown//Getty ImagesOkay, so her engagement didn’t work out—but it led to her first high-profile relationship with country singer Chuck Wicks after they met on Brad Paisley’s tour in August 2008.It was truly a whirlwind romance, since he publicly declared they were “very much in love” on red carpets and even gave her a birthday shoutout on stage. By December that year, they had apparently discussed potentially getting married.Of course, the pair walked many a red carpet and even became partners on DWTS in 2009.They had reportedly had a “mutual” split by November 2009, and though things seemed amicable at the time, Chuck admitted that “shit hit the fan” nearly a decade later.“I’m not going to throw anybody under the bus but … it wasn’t my fault,” he said on his Talk to Chuck podcast in 2020, adding that he “played the game” and kept things civil in public, though he “didn’t really like her at the time.”“Now, I just don't even care,” he admitted. “It’s on you. You get past it. I’ve seen her one time. I’ve seen her one time in 10 years.”(Possibly) Dane Cook: 2010Getty ImagesThere’s not much to go on here, since the Safe Haven actor and comedian never confirmed whether they were an item. However, in March 2010, a source told People that Dane had “kissed her, and they quickly left together” after he headlined a comedy show.They were seen together in West Hollywood one more time before moving on.Ryan Seacrest: 2010–2013Getty ImagesThough Julianne claimed a friend tried to set her up with the American Idol host when she was still engaged to Zack, she didn’t give him a chance until things ended with Chuck years later. During the aforementioned Glamour interview, she revealed she had properly met Ryan when she and Chuck appeared on his radio show as a couple.“I blush when I hear [the interview] because Ryan is hitting on me the entire time!” she shared. “At the end, Ryan said something like, ‘You guys really have something special!’ And I thought to myself, ‘He’s so full of shit right now!’ When Chuck and I broke up, I wanted to be single. That lasted five months. Then Ryan and I went on a date.”Her interview with Chuck was seemingly scrubbed from the internet (womp), but she appeared on Ryan’s radio show many times after. This was pretty much the vibe every time:Anyway, their one date eventually turned into a 3-year relationship, complete with Golden Globes, Emmys, and two Met Gala appearances.Larry Busacca//Getty ImagesKevin Mazur//Getty ImagesAccording to People’s sources, they eventually split in March 2013 because of “busy work schedules,” though they’re still cool to this day.When asked whether it was awkward for the exes to chat on-record during a joint interview with her brother, Derek Hough, in 2022, Ryan said, “There is nothing uncomfortable about it because we remained friends for years and still are.”Julianne maintained that they still had “respect and love” for each other after their split.(Possibly) Ari Sandel: 2013Getty ImagesAfter her split with Ryan, Julianne was reportedly linked to Oscar-winning filmmaker Ari Sandel in July 2013 when they were spotted making out at Nobu.In August 2013, they were photographed leaving a party at the Chateau Marmont and grabbed brunch in West Hollywood the next day. They never publicly commented on their relationship, so it’s unclear how long they actually dated, if at all.Brooks Laich: 2013–2020Michael Tran//Getty ImagesThis is Julianne’s biggest and most public relationship to date. She met former hockey star Brooks Laich through mutual friends before they started a long-distance relationship in 2013. (He lived in Washington, D.C. while Julianne was still based in L.A.)They eventually got engaged in 2015 and tied the knot at an outdoor ceremony on Idaho’s Lake Coeur d’Alene in 2017. However, their romance would come to an end by May 2020, when they announced their split in a joint statement to People.“We have lovingly and carefully taken the time we have needed to arrive at our decision to separate. We share an abundance of love and respect for one another and will continue to lead with our hearts from that place,” they said at the time.During an August 2024 appearance on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Julianne admitted that she and Brooks were “sad that it didn’t work out” between them—especially since he’s remained close with her brother, Derek.“I feel like our relationship and our marriage was exactly right, and the end of it is right, too,” she explained at the time. “We both have regrets that it didn’t work out because I don’t think we had the maturity to come together. He was contracting while I was expanding. We just couldn’t find each other in that.”Tanner Courtad: 2024Getty ImagesBack in December 2024, Julianne was photographed after a dinner date with Bachelor Nation alum Tanner Courtad. That was the only time we had seen anything about the pair…until Tanner fully spilled the tea during the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast in November 2026.“That was short-lived, but it was fun. I was going to Dancing With the Stars to support Joey [Graziadei], and I was sitting in the front row, and Ezra [Sosa] came over to me, and he goes, ‘Hey, our host thinks you’re cute. Can I give you her number?’” he shared.He continued, “I actually met her out in the parking lot. We talked for a couple of minutes, decided to go on a date and talked for a little bit. We went to the park with her dog, got some sushi, hung out for the night and that’s when we got spotted by the paparazzi is picking up sushi.”Though they never kept seeing each other, Tanner confirmed, “It was very short-lived. Julianne’s great, but it was never anything more than just, like, a singular date.”That’s all for now, but we’re actively rooting for Julianne and her hot girl agenda.