Derek Hough and Julianne Hough have spent nearly two decades sharing the Dancing With the Stars ballroom — and along the way, their on-screen chemistry has sparked more than a few raised eyebrows from fans who forgot (or never knew) the pros are brother and sister.
The siblings joined DWTS in 2007, eventually racking up a combined eight mirrorball trophies. Derek now judges alongside Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, while Julianne cohosts the show with Alfonso Ribeiro. Over the years, they’ve opened up about the perks — and the awkward moments — of dancing together in front of millions.
Here’s everything the Hough siblings have said about performing together:
Julianne Hough Recalls Why Fans Were Convinced They Were a Couple
Julianne and her brother’s first joint DWTS performance left audiences very confused.
Appearing on a September 2025 episode of the “Chicks in the Office” podcast, Julianne recalled Inaba choreographing a rumba — commonly known as “the dance of love” — for the siblings to perform on the live tour.
“Our first thing that we ever did on Dancing With the Stars was we were both on the live tour,” she said at the time. “Carrie Ann was the one [who] choreographed everything, and she got us to do a rumba together.”
The billing didn’t help clear things up.
“Our names in the program were ‘Derek and Julianne Hough,’ so everybody thought we were married and we were doing this rumba,” Julianne noted. “When people found out we were brother-sister, I remember there was one venue … and we just heard, ‘That’s just wrong!'”
Robin Wright Thought Derek and Julianne Hough Were Married
The confusion extends well beyond live-tour audiences.
At the 2026 Golden Globe Awards, Damsel actress Robin Wright admitted to Extra host Derek that she’d assumed he and Julianne were a couple.
“Wait, you’re the brother of Julianne, I love her,” Wright told Derek at the time. “You guys are amazing together. I follow you guys on Instagram and watch you guys move. … Can I tell you something? When I first saw her dance, I was like, ‘They’re married.'”
Derek took it in stride, replying, “I’ve got that sometimes.”
Derek Hough’s Awkward ‘Tell Me About It’ Moment
Derek Hough nodded to the sibling-dance awkwardness during a November 2026 live episode of DWTS. When Paralympian Ezra Frech and pro partner Daniella Karagach performed an intimate Grammy Night Argentine tango after admitting in rehearsals that they felt like siblings, Inaba joked that Frech had turned his “sister into [his] lover” for the number.
“Sister to lover that’s awkward,” Ribeiro chimed in.
“Tell me about it, that was weird,” Derek added.
Fans quickly speculated the comment referenced his dynamic with Julianne. “Derek adding in ‘tell me about it’ after Carrie Ann gave Ezra and Daniella credit for doing an intimate dance when they said they feel like siblings HAD ME GIGGGGGGLING,” one fan wrote via Threads.
Julianne reposted the Threads comment to her Instagram Stories, adding a shrugging-woman emoji.
Julianne and Derek Hough’s Sibling Bond Powers Their Performing Partnership
Speaking to Us in November 2025, the siblings gushed about one another.
“I’m Derek’s biggest fan,” Julianne exclusively shared with Us. “He’s always the first person to recognize and see me for who I am. He always has my back, and I know I can trust that my brother is always there because he’s shown up that way.”
Derek returned the praise, telling Us, “I actually want to give Jules her flowers. When she came on the show, she changed the trajectory of DWTS forever. She became the model of what we see now — that multifaceted dancer. She came in and disrupted the whole scene.”
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
