Julianne Hough reveals tragic details about the death of her dogs

Even years later Julianne Hough is still struggling with the loss of her beloved pets Lexi (11) and Harley (8).

The “Dancing with the Stars” The former presenter and current co-presenter first announced the sudden death of her two dogs in 2019.

Five years later, Julianne Hough tells the tragic details of her loss.

Julianne Hough lost her dogs a few days after separating from her husband

Years after reporting the sudden loss of her two dogs, Hough has now revealed for the first time how they were killed.

“I had asked for a separation,” she recalled in a recent episode of the “Jamie Kern Lima Show,” referring to her divorce from Brooks Spawn“And then my dogs were killed by coyotes ten days later.”

“I woke up before my phone even rang, and I knew. I picked up the phone, and my assistant at the time was just screaming,” she continued, noting that she had “never had coyotes in her yard before” and that there were gates. “I had two dogs that were my children. I had them for 11 years and 8 years. And they were everything to me.”

Although her puppies were tragically taken by coyotes, Hough says she is thankful for two things. “That they went together, I'm so thankful that they went together,” she told host Jamie Kern Lima.

“Secondly, I'm grateful that it usually happens very quickly and that we got their bodies,” added the “DWTS” pro. “But at the time I thought, 'Oh, that was the end of the absolute security of unconditional love.'”

Julianne Hough copes with the loss of her dogs and the separation from her then husband

Lexi and Harley's deaths occurred not only during her separation from Brooks Laich, but also when she parted ways with her longtime assistant and started her new company, Kinrgy.

“I felt so out of place,” the professional dancer recalled, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I'm in the middle of starting this company that's all about helping people connect with themselves and live their freest selves, and Assistant and I are parting ways, and I'm asking for a parting because something isn't working.”

She continued, “My dogs, who represented unconditional love and security, are gone. I think to myself, 'What am I doing here? I'm turning my life upside down.'”

Julianne Hough welcomes a new puppy into her family

In 2023, Hough welcomed a new puppy into her family: Sunny.

“Sunny, you have brought so much love and literal sunshine into my life,” she wrote on Instagram last summer. “I can't remember a time without you.”

“Lexi and Harley would have loved and played with you every day and I know they sent you to me when I was ready to open my heart and love again,” Hough added of her new fur ball. “You opened my eyes, darling.”

Julianne Hough says she was sent abroad by her parents

Earlier this month, Hough spoke about her difficult childhood and recalled a particularly difficult time when she and her brother Derek Houghwere sent overseas by their parents to live and train with dance teachers Corky and Shirley Ballas.

She had previously told her mother that she had been sexually harassed by a neighbor.

“My first experience was when I was about four years old,” she said via We weekly. “[It was] a neighbor on our cul-de-sac. I've actually never said that out loud to anyone in an interview before. It was a very confusing time because when you grow up in Mormon culture, everything has to be perfect.”

Derek Hough was abused by the same neighbors who sexually abused Julianne Hough

“And by the way, I'm not the only one in my family who has gone through something similar,” she added. “And it was a big challenge to come to terms with the fact that no one was doing anything.”

“When you're that young and you're having your first experience of this – whether it's physical, mental or sexual – you're seeing this abuse of power against someone who is vulnerable to it,” Hough said. “It immediately sets a precedent: other people have the power.”

The “DWTS” co-host later revealed that those same neighbors had abused Julianne's brother, Derek. “My brother was hung upside down and had a gun to his head. These people did all kinds of things,” she said.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).