Brooks Laich may be splitting from Julianne Hough, but he’s not splitting from her family. The former hockey player revealed on his Instagram Story on Wednesday that he was hanging out with Hough’s brother, Derek Hough.
The guys played ping pong together and worked out with Derek’s girlfriend, Hayley Erbert, Julianne’s friend, Kristy Sowin, and another friend, Cory Tran. The group’s hangout in Los Angeles comes nearly three weeks after Brooks and Julianne announced they were separating after three years of marriage. The former couple had quarantined separately amid the coronavirus pandemic, with Julianne in Los Angeles and Brooks in Idaho.
“We have lovingly and carefully taken the time we have needed to arrive at our decision to separate,” Brooks and Julianne said in a statement to People at the time of their split. “We share an abundance of love and respect for one another and will continue to lead with our hearts from that place. We kindly request your compassion and respect for our privacy moving forward.”
A source told 360aproko last month that Brooks and Julianne had been experiencing marriage problems well before their announcement.
“It has taken Julianne and Brooks some time to find the right moment to announce their split,” the source said. “They haven’t been happy together for a long time but needed to come to terms with the fact that their marriage was over.”
The source said that ultimately, the pair’s different desires when it came to their future together became too much to overcome.
“They truly had a loving, romantic relationship, a fairy-tale wedding and believed they would spend the rest of their lives together but within two years, their views of marriage differed tremendously,” the source shared. “Brooks loves his outdoor life in Idaho, wanted a more traditional marriage and to start a family. Julianne wanted a less traditional marriage, to focus on her career and loves her city life and Hollywood existence.”
“Brooks fell in love with Julianne but they have been living in different homes and even different states for months,” 360aproko’s source added. “They have been happier apart than together and realized they had no choice but to go their separate ways. Despite truly loving each other, they just didn’t see eye to eye.”
Both Brooks and Julianne have been open with their fans post-split. She’s connected with her followers on her KINRGY workout classes, and he’s continued with his and Gavin DeGraw’s podcast, How Men Think.
