After news of their separation, fans have been curious to know why Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich divorced. News broke on Tuesday, November 2, that the Dancing With the Stars alum filed for divorce from the NHL player after three years of marriage.

The divorce, which was filed in the Los Angeles court, came five months after Hough and Laich announced their separation. “We have lovingly and carefully taken the time we have needed to arrive at our decision to separate,” the couple said in a statement in May. “We share an abundance of love and respect for one another and will continue to lead with our hearts from that place. We kindly request your compassion and respect for our privacy moving forward.”

The filing also came a month after HollywoodLife reported that Hough and Laich went on a vacation in Idaho together to work on their marriage. At the time, it seemed like Hough and Laich were on the road to a reconciliation. So what went wrong?

Well, a source told Us Weekly on Wednesday, November 4, that the ballroom dancer and the hockey player “had a lot of back-and-forth moments” before they filed for divorce, but a breaking point came when the two had an explosive fight at a dinner party in front of their friends.

Source: Instagram

“Julianne and Brooks just can’t get past their problems,” the insider said. “Julianne had a dinner party with friends a few months ago, which Brooks came to. They were trying to be lovey-dovey with each other and have a good night with a few friends, but Brooks ended up bringing up some of their issues in front of everyone and it became a big fight.”

A source also told E! News on Tuesday, November 3, that Hough and Laich split because they couldn’t agree on what they wanted out of their future. “She decided that at this point in her life, she wants too much freedom to be married,” the insider said. “She couldn’t make a commitment to move forward and it wasn’t fair to Brooks. He wants a family and to move ahead with his life.”

The source continued, “She loves him dearly and really wanted it to work, but she always ends up back in the same place, which is realizing she doesn’t want to be married at this time in her life.”

Another insider also told E! News that Hough was “really struggling” with her breakup from Laich and “felt torn” before she filed for divorce. “[She] ultimately decided her heart wasn’t in the marriage anymore and wanted to give herself the freedom and independence to experience new things,” the source said.

A source also told Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday that, though the couple briefly reunited as an attempt to save their marriage, in the end, it didn’t work. “Julianne and Brooks gave it their all and finally came to the realization that they aren’t meant to be together,” the source said. “The extra time they spent together after their separation was needed and they are both in a good place.”

The source continued, “A huge part of her felt they still had a chance to make their marriage work…Brooks never wanted his marriage to end and it was painful. He didn’t want to get hurt again so he tread lightly when they first started talking about a reconciliation.”

The insider went on to note that both Hough and Laich couldn’t land on the same page of what they wanted out of their future. “In the beginning they were getting along but the same issues began to arise,” the source said. “While they love each other, they both want more than each other has to offer. The time they spent together in the end was closure for both of them. Julianne feels like she hasn’t had a chance to live her life to the fullest and needs even more time to discover herself.”

Source: Instagram

The insider continued, “Brooks is sad but he is also relieved and ready for his next step in life. He tried his hardest and can move forward without regrets. It has been difficult for both of them to take the step and file for divorce but ultimately Julianne knew it was time.”

Laich, for his part, said in an episode of his podcast, “How Men Think,” on Monday, November 2, that he’s cried “all the time” amid his divorce from Hough. “I cry all the time and it’s wonderful! It’s something I’ve recently learned, since the passing of our two dogs,” he said, referencing the death of his two pups he shared with Hough in 2019. “I’ve learned how to honor emotions in the moment and let them come up and through me and out of me and a lot of times that’s through crying.”

He continued, “I love being able to release emotion truthfully, organically in the moment, not suppress it. I could stuff it if I want to, but it’s so not healthy. It is so liberating to allow and give yourself the grace and the capacity to just allow that emotion to just live and come out.”