DWTS’ Julianne Hough reacts to Danny Amendola flirting with her

About her romance with ex Ryan Seacrest

When Julianne started dating Ryan Seacrest in 2010, she was introduced to a new world—one of luxury vacations, courtside Lakers seats, and glamorous date nights.

“The rug was swept out from under me and I just flew,” she said in an August 2024 episode of Dax Shepard‘s podcast Armchair expert. “I was experiencing things that I didn’t even know existed. But then I had this insecurity that I was like, ‘I don’t ever want anyone to think I’m with him for this reason. So then I started playing less.'”

And Julianne saw herself change.

“I, again, overcompensated, was malleable to fit exactly what someone needed me to be in order for them to be happy,” she added. “What I’ve realized over the years is that I don’t know if I’ve ever really been in love with anyone, but I’ve loved the feeling of being loved. And so let me be what must be, so I can be loved. And so full of love, of course I love everyone I’ve ever dated, but I don’t want to overanalyze it. because every person i’ve dated too has been one very good person.”

When Julianne and Ryan split in 2013, she noted that many “Brentwood moms and producers” questioned the decision.

“They’re like, ‘Your life is completely set up,'” she said. “And I was like, ‘But I didn’t build it.’ And of course I was like, ‘I’ve got to create this’, competitively, like ‘it’s not mine and I want to feel the pride of doing it’.”