Speaking his truth. Brooks Laich shared that men can feel as emotional as women, but might be afraid to be vulnerable, amid his marital issues with his wife, Julianne Hough.
“I believe men can be looked at like we maybe have an understanding of situations, or have things figured out or we’re more composed, and very truthfully we’re not in a lot of situations,” Laich, 36, exclusively told Us Weekly at the iHeart Radio Podcast Awards in Los Angeles on Friday, January 17.
He continued, “We don’t know the answer, we don’t have the way out. Our emotions are real and we’re in it with our partner, our friend, whatever. And I think that’s a vulnerability that men maybe don’t show enough. It’s okay to say ‘I don’t know,‘ it’s okay to say ‘I’m scared too.‘ It’s okay to say those kinds of things that men may sometimes put on a facade and maybe pretend that they have everything figured out or handled, or it doesn’t phase them.”
The professional ice hockey player added that he hopes to address the emotional complexities of men on his podcast, “How Men Think,“ which he cohosts with Gavin DeGraw.
“That’s what we try and do on this show is really show men’s vulnerabilities, insecurities, things that we struggle with and set down our weapons to create a safe place for other men to voice the same in their lives,” Laich explained.
Us broke the news on January 8 that the NHL player and Hough, 31, were “having problems” in December 2019. An insider added that “everyone knows something is up.”
The news came one month after the duo enjoyed a romantic couples getaway at Nobu Hotel Los Cabos in November 2019. They were joined by Derek Hough and his girlfriend, Hayley Erbert, Dancing With the Stars alum Brooke Burke and her boyfriend, Scott Rigsby.
Laich got candid in an Instagram post on December 30 that his 2020 New Year’s resolution was to learn more about his “intimacy and [his] sexuality.”
“I’m always working on becoming a better man, a better version of me, and it always starts with a vision of who that person is,” he wrote at the time. “Knowing where I am, and where I want to go, are equally important.”
One day later, the Dancing With the Stars pro was spotted without her wedding ring while cohosting NBC’s New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly on December 31. Hough also didn’t wear her wedding ring in Instagram videos shared on December 24 and January 3. Laich, for his part, has not been spotted without his wedding ring.
Another insider revealed on January 8 that the couple had recently been taking some time apart.
“They have both been in different places for work so they haven’t been able to spend as much time together these past few months,” the source said at the time.
Despite their issues, the couple appeared to be in a good place when they were spotted hugging outside of the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Los Angeles on January 9.
With reporting by Emily Marcus
