Julianne Hough, 31, isn’t completely isolated from everyone — even if she and her husband, Brooks Laich, are states apart! The Dancing with the Stars judge was seen with her longtime friend Ben Barnes, 38, in Los Angeles on April 16. Julianne was in black sweats while Ben wore similarly cozy clothes for the outdoor stroll on Thursday. It’s unclear if this means Julianne and The Punisher star were just catching up or are quarantining in LA together, where Julianne has been isolating. You can see the photos, here.
Although Julianne’s staying in the LA home that she shares with Brooks, her husband has been quarantining in the great outdoors of Idaho. He’s not totally alone, either. The National Hockey League veteran has been quarantining with his Siberian husky dog, Koda!
Brooks was most recently seen with Julianne in downtown Los Angeles on March 5, right before California’s shelter-in-place order went into effect. Despite split rumors that had been swirling for weeks, both spouses appeared to be in high spirits. By March 26, Brooks was in Idaho, since he shared a video of him and Koda on a hike in the Idaho mountains that day.
To be clear, Julianne and Brooks are still together. However, confusion surrounded their nearly three-year marriage when a report claimed Julianne and Brooks have basically been social distancing — even before that was a thing! “They have been spending time apart but are not ready to share what’s going on between them,” an insider told E! News in Jan. 2020. “They don’t even really know what to call it. There’s a ton of love and emotion there and they are going through something very personal.” The sourced added, “[Julianne] is honoring her work commitments, as is he, and it’s kept them apart. But things have definitely changed in their relationship.”
Around the time the report surfaced, fans also noticed that Julianne’s wedding ring was MIA on her finger. Before the split rumors began brewing, Julianne revealed that she isn’t straight in an Aug. 2019 interview with Women’s Health. “I [told him], ‘You know I’m not straight, right?’ And he was like, ‘I’m sorry what?,’” Julianne recalled.