Julianne Hough Expresses Joy for Life in NYC After Finishing Divorce from Brooks Laich

Former Dancing with the Stars pro Julianne Hough now calls New York City home, since she made her Broadway debut in Selina Fillinger's play POTUS in April. Hough feels like she is "meant to be" in the Big Apple, a few months after her divorce from NHL player Brooks Laich was finalized. Hough also co-hosted Paramount+'s Tony Awards pre-show Sunday night with Darren Criss.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight before the Tonys kicked off, Hough described her life in New York as busy. "Eight shows a week on Broadway. I have an incredible cast of women who have just really become my family, my sisters. I feel very embraced and welcomed here. And I love New York, it's so incredible. I feel like, a whole new energy of this next stage of life, of my career, and what I want to create and put out in the world," Hough said. "This is where I'm meant to be right now, so, feeling good."

Hough moved to New York to star in POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, a political satire about a group of women trying to keep the president out of trouble. The play picked up three Tony nominations, including Best Featured Actress in a Play for Julie White and Rachel Dratch. Vanessa Williams, Lilli Cooper, Lea DeLaria, and Suzy Nakamura also star in the Schubert Theatre production.

It is "absolutely incredible" to be welcomed by the Broadway community, Hough said Sunday. "To be a part of this Broadway community has always been something that I've dreamed of, and the fact that I get to be here the year that Broadway is back and the Tony Awards are back at Radio City and POTUS is nominated, I mean, it's just amazing," Hough told ET. "I feel so grateful."

In a previous ET interview, Hough said she always wanted to star on Broadway and was excited to start a new chapter in her career. "I, like, changed my mindset from instead of just coming here for a job to like, 'No, I'm moving here and this is a whole new chapter. A new stage of my life,'" she said, adding that she has "really understood what's important and what we value" after the past few years.

Laich, 38, and Hough, 33, married in July 2017. They split in 2020 but tried to reconcile before Hough filed for divorce later that year. In February, Hough filed for an "uncontested dissolution" of their marriage, with Laich agreeing to not fight the case. Last week, The Blast reported Hough and Laich were declared legally single and their divorce case was now over. Laich is now dating CrossFit athlete Katrín Davíðsdóttir, while Hough was linked to model Charlie Wilson last year.