Julianne Hough reflects on working with ex Chuck Wicks on Dancing with the Stars

Julianne Hough is revisiting one of the most challenging chapters of her Dancing with the Stars tenure: partnering with then-boyfriend Chuck Wicks on Season 8.

In a new conversation on The Morning After Show, Hough explained why dancing with a romantic partner created far more friction than ease, and how the experience ultimately shaped both their onscreen dynamic and their offscreen relationship.

Dancing with the Stars: Julianne Hough revisits Season 8

Hough, now 37, reflected on her Dancing with the Stars Season 8 run after fellow pro Rylee Arnold brought up what it might be like to compete with her own boyfriend, football player Walker Lyons.

Arnold wondered on camera, 

"I’m so curious as to how he would be if I was like, ‘Come on, you got this?’"

That opened the door for Hough to revisit 2009, when she and Wicks—then a rising country singer—performed as partners during the ABC competition’s spring season.

Hough didn’t hesitate to describe the struggle. 

"It was really hard," she said. "I was such a better coach to my other partners, not a very good coach with my boyfriend at the time."

She admitted she "couldn’t figure out how to do it," summarising the season as an emotional and professional challenge she hadn’t anticipated when they signed on together.

A public breakup during Dancing with the Stars fame

Hough and Wicks ended their relationship in November 2009, months after their Dancing with the Stars run concluded.

At the time, Hough publicly emphasised that the split was amicable. In an interview with US Weekly, she said,

"It’s a good thing for us right now, we are both extremely busy and working on our careers and really focused on that."

She added that the pair remained close, saying, 

"We are such good friends. Of course, we weren’t together. We will always continue being good friends."

Wicks, however, offered a very different perspective more than a decade later.

Chuck Wicks’ later revelations

On his Talk to Chuck podcast in December 2020, Wicks claimed their breakup had been far more complicated than the public understood. He said, 

"Everyone thought we met on Dancing With the Stars. We didn’t; we met on tour. We were out touring with Brad Paisley."

The two began dating long before stepping into the ballroom, and Wicks noted they were in a strong place professionally and personally. 

"We’re both loving life, we’re on a high because both careers are going great. We bought a house together, we did all these things, and then out of nowhere, you find out that they’re not the person that you thought they were. And you break up. And then everybody wants to know why."

Wicks said that he and Hough mutually agreed to keep the details private.

According to him, they made a "pact" not to reveal the truth about their split.

Instead, they chose to publicly say things were "fine" and portray the breakup as friendly. But on his podcast, he said,

"It wasn’t fine. S**t hit the fan. I’m not going to throw anybody under the bus but … it wasn’t my fault."

He also discussed the personal discomfort that followed, explaining that he feared unexpected run-ins with Hough once they separated. 

"When Julianne and I broke up … I was like, ‘When am I going to see her?’ Because I played the game. In the public eye, I was like, ‘Oh, man, it’s great.’ But actually, I didn’t really like her at the time."

Wicks said the tension eased over the years and that he’s only seen her once in the decade since: 

"Now, I just don’t even care … It’s on you. You get past it. I’ve seen her one time. I’ve seen her one time in 10 years [at a softball charity challenge]."

Hough is stepping back into the Dancing with the Stars world as a host while Wicks sticks with radio and country gigs.

Their shared time on the ABC show might be behind them, yet it still comes up, and each talks about it differently when asked.

Stay tuned for more updates.