Julianne Hough Says She Feels ‘Peaceful and Calm’ Isolating Away From Husband Brooks Laich

Taking time for herself. Julianne Hough said she feels “peaceful and calm” while quarantining away from her husband, Brooks Laich, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“This time has really given me space to think about the things that are important in my life, my day-to-day interactions. I thrive off hustle and creation and energy, but this has given me the space to actually take an hour — which I never have done before — to make a meal for lunch, and go outside and breathe in the air,” she told People in an interview published on Thursday, May 7. “I just feel more grounded and at peace. Time and space is in its own weird place right now, but I feel like I can breathe.”

While the Dancing With the Stars alum is in Los Angeles, Brooks, 36, is watching over their house in Idaho. “I think I’m an introvert by nature,” Brooks said on his iHeartRadio podcast, “How Men Think,” on April 22. “There’s a part of me that enjoys isolation and there’s a part of me that actually gets drained when I’m around too many people.”

The couple wed in 2017, they appeared to be doing fine until they started experiencing “marriage woes” in January, a source exclusively told In Touch at the time. Sadly they have “matured into different people,” but that “doesn’t mean they still don’t love each other deeply,” the insider explained.

“It was Julianne’s decision to spend time apart,” another source exclusively told In Touch on the same day as Brooks’ telling podcast. “She feels it’s good for both of them to get some breathing space,” the source shared. “Brooks was OK about it until he found out she’d decided to quarantine with Ben [Barnes].” The TV personality was spotted on a walk with the Chronicles of Narnia actor on April 16.

“Brooks still loves Julianne and wants to make their marriage work, but the bottom line is they’re not on the same page,” the source continued. “She’s too out there for his liking and he can’t keep up with her wackiness and unconventional views on life.”

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