Julianne Hough Says Her Endometriosis Symptoms Have Subsided

Julianne Hough is opening up about her endometriosis and how her symptoms have decreased since she began “connecting back” to her “truth.”

In the June cover story for Women’s Health the dancer and actress, 31, discussed her experience with the reproductive condition in which uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus, causing cramping and chronic pain.

Hough said that in her case, focusing more on energy has reduced endometriosis pain.

“I will tell you, through this transformation of really connecting back to my truth, I haven’t had symptoms of endometriosis because of the love and kindness I’m giving to my body,” Hough, who founded dance-based fitness program, KINRGY, said. “I believe there’s stress, shame, guilt, and suppression of female energy that’s associated with endometriosis, so de-layering that has really helped.”

Hough also discussed her decision to freeze her eggs in case she had to undergo in vitro fertilization as a result of her endometriosis.

“I think the healthier I am from the inside out — as far as my beliefs, my energy, what I’m putting into my body — the better prepared I’ll be when the time comes,” she said. “We never actually tried to get pregnant. It was more of a precautionary measure: Let’s do our due diligence for the future by freezing eggs.”

In the past, the former Dancing with the Stars judge has often been open about the struggles of having endometriosis. Last year, she told Women’s Health that the condition has affected her sex life with husband Brooks Laich.

“It can definitely cut things short,” she said in January 2019. “Sometimes we’re in the middle and I’m just like ‘AH, stop!’ It can be really frustrating.”

Hough first started feeling endometriosis pain at 15, but didn't get diagnosed until she had to go to the emergency room during a live taping of Dancing with the Stars at age 20.

“I thought it was just what it feels like to be a girl with bad periods,” she said. “I didn’t think to go to the gynecologist. Because I’m a competitor, I felt like I had to push through the pain and just work.”

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Hough shared that it was difficult for her to come to terms with the idea that her body was failing her after years of athletic training.

“It was an emotional trauma,” she said. “At the time, I felt very lonely and like nobody understood me. I had no idea that [so many women] had endometriosis.”

“The more educated you become, the more powerful you’re going to feel,” she continued. “You have two choices: You can hate it, or it can just become part of you. It doesn’t need to define you, it’s just an aspect of who you are.”