Julianne Hough wants every hopeful mother to embrace their own path to pregnancy.
The “America’s Got Talent” judge told Access on Wednesday how being candid about her fertility journey is part of an ultimate “mission” to spread positivity to anyone else sharing a similar experience.
“I have nothing to be ashamed of,” she said of her and husband Brooks Laich openly discussing their IVF process. “I’m here to debunk beliefs that there’s something wrong with you or that you can’t do something, whatever that might be.”
WATCH: Brooks Laich Confesses That Wife Julianne Hough Taught Him About ‘True Intimacy’
Maintaining a public dialogue helps her, too. Julianne went on to explain why a straightforward approach to such personal topics keeps her mindset on the right track.
“I think the more I’m open the more therapeutic it is for me to not suppress it and hide it, and the more I’m open the more it helps somebody else who sees themselves in me feel understood and heard,” she said. “I think at the end of the day, that’s my whole mission, is just to feel so connected to myself that I’m not embarrassed or ashamed about anything and I’m as free as can be, and people can feel encouraged to have that same freedom.”
Though Julianne is well aware of her influence, the 31-year-old also made sure to clarify that she still has plenty to learn.
“By the way, it’s not like, ‘I got it,'” she added. “Every day is a constant evolution and I hope that I’m evolving the rest of my life,” Julianne spoke openly while kicking off
the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games being just one year away. The “America’s Got Talent” judge joined U.S. Olympians Nzingha Prescod , Nicole Ross, Erik Kynard, Olympic skateboarding hopeful Tom Schaar for the Peacock Games, an Olympic-themed youth sports clinic with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America at Children’s Aid in Harlem, NY .
Julianne recently found a new outlet for self-discovery through a milestone trip. The dance legend reflected on hiking Mount Kilimanjaro for her and Brooks’ second wedding anniversary this month.
Though Julianne admitted that she’d assumed her active lifestyle and fit physique meant she was well prepared going in, the unexpected challenge she faced instead ended up being more than worth it.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she told Access. “But it was so rewarding knowing that our minds are extremely strong and they can either hurt you or encourage you. … We’re really a lot stronger than we think.”
As for whether she or Brooks was the primary “motivator” on the trek, Julianne said they “traded off” in a way not unlike marriage itself.
“We kinda go back and forth,” she said. “He was super strong in the beginning and then something clicked in me where your fight or flight takes over, and my fight took over halfway through the climb. … [by the end] I was dancing and singing and jumping around.”
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