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Julianne Hough Was Sexually Abused by a Neighbor at Age 4 But Didn't Remember the Incident Until a Few Years Ago

Photo of Julianne Hough
Source: mega

For the first time ever, Julianne Hough publicly opened up about the abuse she experienced as a child living in Utah.

Aug. 15 2024, Published 12:54 p.m. ET

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Julianne Hough revealed she was sexually abused when she was just a child.

The dancer discussed her trauma during the Thursday, August 15, episode of "The Jamie Kern Lima Show" podcast, noting this was the first time she's ever talked about the incident publicly.

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julianne hough sexually abused neighbor age  didnt remember
Source: mega

For the first time ever, Julianne Hough publicly discussed the sexual abuse she endured as a child.

The Safe Haven star, 36, was "about 4 years old" when one of her neighbors in Utah sexually abused her.

"There was not a lot of repercussion for what had happened — and by the way, I'm not the only one in my family that had gone through similar things. And so that was a very challenging thing to come to terms with," she spilled. "Nobody did anything."

Hough explained that talking about a crime wasn't the norm in the Mormon lifestyle, as "everything needs to be perfect. Everybody needs to put on the shiny 'we've got our stuff together.'"

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julianne hough sexually abused neighbor age  didnt remember
Source: @jamiekernlimaofficial/youtube

The dancer shared her story on the latest episode of 'The Jamie Kern Lima Show' podcast.

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The Dancing With the Stars alum never informed her parents until more recently, as she completely forgot about it until she began telling them about other abuse she experienced as a teenager.

"I started sharing those things, but I had forgot about the neighbor thing at 4 years old until I started really doing this work in the last few years," Hough detailed. "I think I blocked out from birth to 10 basically because I had completely disassociated from [the abuse] ever happening."

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julianne hough sexually abused neighbor age  didnt remember
Source: mega

Hough admitted she blocked out the trauma to 'disassociate.'

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The blonde beauty said her parents "felt guilty" after finding out, though talking about it helped heal their rocky relationship.

"At the time, when I was younger, I think they also didn't know what to do. And were also in a position of not feeling capable or also feeling helpless," Hough expressed. "We've definitely gone through conversation after conversation like, 'But we get it now, right? And we're on the same page? I'm not blaming you now, but I definitely needed more at the time.'"

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julianne hough sexually abused neighbor age  didnt remember
Source: mega

Hough is currently on a press tour for her book 'Everything We Never Knew.'

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Hough has touched on the dynamic she has with her parents before, revealing that when she was 10 and brother Derek Hough, 39, was 13, they let the tots go to London to start professional dance training.

Though the siblings were pursuing their dreams, Julianne felt homesick and found her new demanding lifestyle difficult to adapt to.

"When I look back, I think it's so sad I have no pictures of me with a cute, bare, 10-year-old face," she told People of having to always wear stage makeup for performances.

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