Derek Hough Reveals Why He Loves Working With Sister Julianne on ‘DWTS’

Derek Hough and Julianne Hough have had the unique experience of getting to work together on Dancing With the Stars for years. Julianne was first to join the show as a pro during Season 4, and Derek came on board for Season 5.

“It’s been awesome,” Hough, who was recently named Mucinex’s Chief Recharge Officer amid cold and flu season, told TV Insider. “I mean, she’s the blueprint. Season 4, she came on that show, blew everybody away, was a superstar, and won back to back. And she became the blueprint for what the show is now as far as a lot of these pros go. Not all of them, but a lot of them.”

Julianne’s tenure as a pro ended after Season 8, but her and Derek’s DWTS paths crossed again in Seasons 19, 20, 21, and 23, when she was a judge and he was a pro. Season 23 was Derek’s last, while Julianne stayed on as a judge for Season 24. Meanwhile, Derek joined the judges’ panel in Season 29, and they’ve now been working together again since Season 32 (2023), when Julianne returned as a co-host.

Disney/Eric McCandless

“We’ve had very parallel careers, you know what I mean? But it’s awesome. It’s great,” Derek gushed. “Every once in a while, we’ll just give each other a hug during a commercial break, and it’s just a moment where we’re like, ‘Oh, this is kind of cool. This is awesome, man.’ We don’t take it for granted. We feel very fortunate and we’re very lucky, and it’s very unique.”

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Derek called Dancing With the Stars “the biggest show in America,” and noted how special it’s been to be part of the DWTS family for so long. “Having been through that show in so many different renditions in so many different ways, and then be here in the present moment with it, it’s really cool,” he concluded.

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Episode 8, Monday, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+