Julianne Hough Reveals Her Endometriosis Affects Her Sex Life with Brooks Laich

Julianne Hough is opening up about having Endometriosis, which is an “often painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus.”

“I first started experiencing symptoms back when I was 15, but I thought it was just what it feels like to be a girl with bad periods. 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,” Julianne told Women’s Health.

Years later, while competing on Dancing with the Stars, she finally went to the ER.

“I was just waiting for a commercial break,” Julianne added. “I went to the ER and nobody could tell me what was wrong with me.”

Upon finally getting a diagnosis, Julianne added, “It was an emotional trauma. At the time, I felt very lonely and like nobody understood me. I had no idea that [so many women] had endometriosis.”

She added that it does affect her sex life with husband Brooks Laich.

“It can definitely cut things short,” Julianne said. “Sometimes we’re in the middle and I’m just like ‘AH, stop!’”

“It can be really frustrating,” she continued. “He only wants to love on me and make me feel good.”

“There’s so much intimacy without actually having sex,” Julianne said about doing a lot of foreplay to keep things intimate between her and her husband. “There are some cool things we’ve learned and it’s literally been awesome.”