Julianne Hough Reveals Why Fans Thought She Was Married to Brother Derek

Julianne Hough and Derek Hough are a dynamic sibling duo on Dancing With the Stars, though one steamy dance left fans confused when it came to their relationship.

“Our first thing that we ever did on Dancing With the Stars was we were both on the live tour,” Julianne, 37, recalled on the Friday, September 5, episode of the “Chicks in the Office” podcast. “Carrie Ann [Inaba, one of the show judges] was the one [who] choreographed everything, and she got us to do a rumba together.”

A rumba is a Latin dance, commonly referred to as “the dance of love.”

“Our names in the program were ‘Derek and Julianne Hough,’ so everybody thought we were married and we were doing this rumba,” she recalled. “When people found out we were brother-sister, I remember there was one venue … and we just heard, ‘That’s just wrong!’”

Julianne and Derek, 40, joined DWTS in 2007, going on to win a combined total of eight mirrorball trophies. Julianne now cohosts DWTS with Alfonso Ribeiro, while Derek sits on the judging panel with Inaba, 57, and Bruno Tonioli.

“It’s really cool that we get to do similar things in our own way,” she said on Friday. “We’re definitely unique, [but] we’re cut from the same cloth, so there’s a lot of similar energy, but we’re very different.”

Derek, who is now married to pregnant wife Hayley Erbert, and Julianne have also teamed up for a number of less romantic dances on DWTS. The Hough siblings recently teased to Us Weekly that they might even perform together on this fall’s season 34.

“We should. That door is always open for us to get together and do something fun, especially on Dancing With the Stars and Ovation as well,” Derek exclusively told Us Weekly last month, referring to the dance competition the siblings cofounded.

ABC announced the star-studded lineup for DWTS season 34 earlier this week, which includes Alix Earle, Corey Feldman, Jordan Chiles, Danielle Fishel, Andy Richter, Jen Affleck and more.

“I think there’s a lot of energy. There’s a lot of momentum with Dancing With the Stars,” Derek teased to Us in August. “I think that momentum is gonna carry through into this one and it’s already feeling bigger than it’s ever been before we’ve even started. I think it’s going to be a big season.”

Julianne, meanwhile, told Us that the ballroom competition has “never felt more relevant and in the zeitgeist” than it is presently.

“It’s kind of incredible,” she said. “But I always say — this is my woo woo side — I’m like, ‘It’s family. It’s connected. It’s a transformation show masked in rhinestones and fringe and dancing.’ It’s truly about watching people go on a journey, and we get to go on it with them.”

Dancing With the Stars premieres on ABC and Disney+ Tuesday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET, with new episodes streaming the next day on Hulu.

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