Brooks Laich Admits He’s Enjoying Isolation in Idaho Without Julianne Hough

On his own — and not mad about it. Brooks Laich detailed a day of his life in quarantine in Idaho without his wife,Julianne Hough.

“I’m up in Idaho, I’m at my house in Idaho,” the 36-year-old former NHL player told cohost Gavin DeGraw on their “How Men Think” podcast, noting he’s outside “all day.”

“I’m outside from like, 7:30 until 5 o’clock,” Laich continued. “I have 10-and-a-half acres here. Our property’s pretty big and I’ve just been doing a mass cleaning of it. Like, everything. Building some rock walls, chainsawing down some trees, clearing brush, you name it. … I think I’m an introvert by nature.”

While Hough, 31, opted to stay in Los Angeles, the athlete brought the pair’s “awesome” husky, Koda, with him.

“There’s got to be some sort of wolf in him. It’s been great,” he explained. “I love having my dog — if it wasn’t for my dog, I’d probably be a little more antsy with the isolation.”

Laich added that he’s “doing OK” even though he misses “the friendships and companionships where you do get to hug somebody and be in the same room.” According to the professional dancer’s husband, he sees his neighbors from a distance, but hasn’t had much human contact.

“I see them when they walk their dogs a little bit, but don’t see them much. We’re practicing social distancing, but I’ve been good with the isolation,” he explained. “I bought this place in 2014, and I’ve never spent enough time here. I come here like, a week a year and it’s my dream property. … There’s lots to do. And I just love being up here. I’ve never spent enough time here, so I’m doing OK with it. But I’ve always been that way, even when I was younger. When I was a young kid, I didn’t need to be around friends all the time. I liked it, I had great friends, I still have great friends to this day, but there’s a part of me that enjoys isolation and there’s a part of me that actually gets drained when I’m around too many people.”

Us Weekly confirmed earlier this month that Laich left his home in L.A., which he shares with Hough. She was subsequently spotted out with actor Ben Barnes on April 16.

According to a source, the couple, who wed in July 2017, are “not doing well” at the moment. Their decision to quarantine alone comes months after the initial reports of a rough patch in their marriage.

While one insider told Us in December 2019 that the pair were “having problems,” three months later, a second source insisted that they worked through their struggles.

“Brooks and Julianne are totally fine and are working through any issues they previously faced,” the source said in March. “At the end of the day, they love each other and they are still together.”

Hough, meanwhile, has been filling her days by dancing on Instagram Live.

“Releasing all this stagnant energy built up from what’s going on personally and in the world,” the Dancing With the Stars alum wrote on April 18. “Welcome home to your own skin, Jules.