Julianne Hough has finally revealed the blood-curdling reason why both her dogs died on the same day five years ago.
The 36-year-old Dancing With The Stars hostess announced in 2019 that her pets, Lexi, 11, and Harley, eight, had tragically lost their lives.
She shared her dogs with her then-husband Brooks Laich, a former professional ice hockey player she married in 2017 and filed for divorce from in 2020.
Although she touchingly paid tribute to Lexi and Harley on Instagram when they died, she never disclosed their cause of death – until now.
In a shattering revelation, she shared that she asked Brooks for a separation just 10 days before her dogs perished in a brutal way, via The Jamie Kern Lima Show.
Julianne Hough has finally revealed the blood-curdling reason why both her dogs Harley, eight, and Lexi, 11, died on the same day five years ago
Lexi and Harley were killed by coyotes who made their way onto Julianne’s property, the professional dancer heartbreakingly explained.
‘I woke up before my phone even rang and I knew, and I picked up the phone and my assistant at the time was just, like, screaming,’ she said.
Before the stomach-turning incident took place, Julianne had ‘never had coyotes in her yard,’ which she had fenced off for protection.
Julianne ‘felt so out of integrity or out of like, alignment’ when her dogs died because she suffered the bereavement during a period of general upheaval in her life.
Not only was her marriage collapsing, but her close friendship with her assistant was also ‘unraveling,’ which made the loss of Lexi and Harley an even worse blow.
‘My dogs that represented unconditional love and safety – gone,’ said Julianne. ‘They went together. I’m so grateful that they went together.’
She noted that she was ‘grateful that usually how it happens is very quick and that we got their bodies. But at that time I was like: “Oh that was the unraveling of the absolute safety of like unconditional love.”‘
Julianne announced their death in October 2019 with an Instagram album, accompanied by a heartrending tribute caption.
In a shattering revelation, she shared that she asked her husband Brooks Laich for a separation just 10 days before her dogs perished in a brutal way, via The Jamie Kern Lima Show
She shared her dogs with her then-husband Brooks Laich, a former professional ice hockey player she married in 2017 and filed for divorce from in 2020
Although she touchingly paid tribute to Lexi and Harley on Instagram when they died, she never disclosed their cause of death – until now
‘Thank you for being my babies, my daughters,’ she wrote. ‘Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for teaching me how to be your mother. Thank you for allowing me to give and receive love. Thank you for your kisses.’
Brooks shared his grief on Instagram as well, writing: ‘Their tragic passing has left my wife and I heartbroken. Lexi and Harley were not just pets to us, they were our children, and we loved them as such.’
He added: ‘The way they loved their mom @juleshough and the way she loved them back was the first time I knew that there was hope for me to have love in my life.’
Brooks continued: ‘And they accepted me into their little family, and helped me become a dad for the first time. The past 2 weeks have been filled with tears of sorrow, and tears of joy. The immense pain we feel by their loss is due to the overwhelming love we had for them.’