"Dancing with the Stars" fans were saddened to hear that judge and former pro dancer Julianne Hough would not be returning for Season 22, but the 27-year-old is actually looking forward to not being on the judging panel.
Although she's going to miss the judging aspect of the gig, there's a lot more she can do as a fan of the show now that she doesn't have to worry about being in charge of the scores.
"I will miss being on the panel... but have a lot of exciting stuff coming that I look forward to sharing," she said. "The pro dancers, producers and crew at 'DWTS' will always be my family."
Hough joined the hit ABC show as a pro dancer in Season 4 and stayed until Season 8. During her time on the show, she won the Mirror Ball Trophy during seasons 4 and 5 with her celebrity partners Apolo Anton Ohno and Helio Castroneves. She then came back to the show as a judge for Seasons 19, 20 and 21.
"It's nice now because I can actually have favorites," Hough explained of no longer judging the competition. "I watched the premiere, and I was super-rooting for [Boyz II Men's Wanya Morris] because he did 'Grease: Live' with us... I'm really excited because I'm focusing on some other things. I'm at a point in my career where I need to focus on my personal career and make sure I'm doing what I'm doing."
She and Canadian hockey player Brooks Laich just got engaged in August and, at the time, she took a break from social media to focus on all the exciting things going on in her life.
"I'm just so happy and feeling so loved from all of you, and wanted to give you a quick update on everything," she captioned a photo of her and Laich at the time. "I can't wait to share our wedding planning adventures with you over the next few months - you guys always give the best advice!"
She then took to her blog to go into more detail on her excitement. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the outpouring of love and well wishes surrounding my engagement," she wrote. "This is certainly one of the most exciting times in my life and I am so happy to share it with you all! That said, I'm going to take a slight social media time out to enjoy this special time with my fiancé!"
