Julianne Hough Reveals Why She Left ‘Dancing With The Stars’

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Julianne Hough sat down with ET’s Lauren Zima to talk everything Dancing with the Stars, including why she gave up her judge’s seat.
“Obviously, right now, I wanted to take some time and focus on my acting and kind of get back on that path,” Hough, who is undertaking the role of fitness pioneer Betty Weider in the upcoming film Bigger told ET. “This is a different chapter. I’m 29 and I feel like I’m sort of coming into my own.”

Excited to announce that I'll be joining the film "Bigger", the amazing story behind Joe and Ben… https://t.co/X5lcFgbFQE

— Julianne Hough (@juliannehough) September 26, 2017

Julianne revealed to ET she didn’t want to wake up in a couple of years regretting not trying something else, admitting, “It was really hard, but I wanted to make that choice.”
The one-time professional dancer on the show said she will always feel like she is a part of the DWTS family, adding, “I do miss the show. But what’s really fun is, I’m a fan, just like everybody who watches. I watch the show now that I’m home and, you know, I have favorites and everything. Which is great because I could never really have favorites. I had to really kind of separate that.”
So who is Julianne rooting for this season? “I love Derek [Fisher], I think he is phenomenal,” Hough told ET. “I love Lindsey Sterling, she’s just a bubble and bright light of fresh air…I think that Sasha is great. She’s got such a fun personality, and she can really move.”