Exclusive: Julianne Hough’s Red Hair Makeover Stemmed From Her Feeling More ‘Womanly’

Julianne Hough can attest — blondes don’t necessarily have more fun.

The Dancing With the Stars stunner recently traded in her signature platinum locks for a ginger look, debuting the look on Instagram last month.

“I have never felt more like ME than I do right now!” she stated boldly in the caption.

Part of the change-up came from her evolution as a woman in light of her recent marriage to hockey player hubby Brooks Laich, the 29-year-old revealed to PopCulture.com exclusively this week. The two tied the knot in July 2017 in an intimate outdoor ceremony near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

“Since we’ve been married, I’ve felt more grounded and centered and womanly,” Hough told PopCulture of the emotions that led to her major change in aesthetic.

Laich told PopCulture that while he had only ever known his now-wife as a blonde before her transformation, he had seen her as a brunette in the movie Footloose, and thought the darker locks were “sexy as hell” and more accurately reflected her journey.

The 29-year-old dancer revealed that she’s been becoming more spiritual and rooted since her marriage and is trading in the traits she sees as more “girly” for those of a woman.

“I think being girly is being flirtatious … not really rooted, more whatever happens, happens,” she continued, adding that once she married Laich, “There was more of a weight to everything I’ve done.”

Previously, she told PopCulture she looked more for protection and security in her relationship with Laich, and now that she has that, she feels more confident and is really exploring her “sensuality.”

The change is evident, Laich added, not just in her new hairdo, but in her attitude and the way they interact with one another.

“I don’t call her my girl, I call her my woman,” he told PopCulture. “And I don’t want to be called a boy, I’m a man.”

The two are also working on giving back as part of their journey, partnering their charitable organization, Love United, with the sports drink company Propel Electrolyte Water to raise money for clean water wells in Africa.

“We wanted to do something mission-led, something to give back,” Laich told PopCulture.

“Love United is about uniting the world community,” he added. “Propel, which is how Gatorade does water, is about uniting the fitness community through proper hydration and our first mission through Love United is about bringing clean drinking water to an underserved nation. It was just a natural fit for Jules and I to team up with them and we are so excited that they are donating a portion of proceeds from their Co:Labs Fitness Festivals this summer to Love United.”

You can help support Love United and have the opportunity to work out with Hough and one of her favorite trainers, Simone de la Rue, in Los Angeles this May. More information is available here.

Photo credit: Instagram / Julianne Hough