Julianne Hough's dogs were killed 10 days after separating from Brooks Laich

Julianne Hough talked about the time when she ended her marriage with Brooks Spawn — and lost both dogs.

“I had asked for a separation, and then 10 days later my dogs were killed by coyotes,” Hough, 36, recalled on the Tuesday, Aug. 27 episode of “The Jamie Kern Lima Show” on YouTube. “My dogs, who embodied unconditional love and security – gone. I just thought, 'Whoa, what am I doing here? I'm turning my life upside down.'”

Hough decided to split from 41-year-old Laich because she felt something “wasn't working,” but she didn't expect to be grieving for her pets at the same time.

“[I] I woke up before my phone even rang and I knew. And I picked up the phone and my assistant at the time was just screaming,” she continued. “I've never had coyotes in my yard, I have gates and everything.”

The actress has now found peace by being “grateful that they left together.”

“Usually, it happens very quickly and we got their bodies,” Hough said of the tragic incident. “Suffering any loss is painful, even when it's the right thing to do. And when that happened, I just felt pain because of a decision that I felt was the right thing for me. And they felt pain too, so it was just really painful.”

Hough and Laich married in 2017 after four years of dating. They sparked speculation of a split in early 2020 when they spent time apart during the COVID pandemic and announced their separation later that year.

“We have lovingly and carefully taken the time we needed to come to our decision to separate,” the couple said in a joint statement in May 2020. “We share an abundance of love and respect for one another and will continue to lead with the heart from this place. We respectfully ask for your compassion and respect for our privacy going forward.”

Related: Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich: As they were

Dancing through life! Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich only had eyes for each other from 2014 to 2020. The Dancing With the Stars pro's former Curve co-star Teddy Sears introduced the couple in December 2013, but the actor had been trying to set them up long before that. “On set, he apparently spoke to […]

A source told exclusively We weekly at the time the former couple had “argued a lot” before breaking up, adding: “[They] simply had different views on important issues. [They were] They are trying to find their way separately and deal with all the problems they faced and that have become more acute during the marriage.”

Us confirmed that the duo's divorce became final in June 2022. Hough has since spoken about how difficult the experience was for her.

“It wasn't right. That can be hard to accept,” she said on an episode of the Armchair Expert podcast earlier this month. “I feel like our relationship and our marriage were exactly right and that ending is right too. We both regret that it didn't work out because I don't think we had the maturity to be together. He was shrinking while I was expanding. We just couldn't find ourselves in it.”