Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough are great friends and also co-hosts of “Dancing with the Stars,” and when she turned 37 on July 20, Ribeiro was one of the first people to celebrate her publicly.
“Happy birthday to my partner in crime,” Ribeiro wrote on a picture of the two of them posing for a photo. “Hope you have the most incredible day.” The actor posted the message on his Instagram Story, and Hough reposted it on hers, allowing her 5.1 million fans to see it. This was not the only message that she received on her big day.
Among the other birthday tributes she shared on her Story was one from meditation coach Maude Hirst, Kinrgy Studios, and Derek Hough. Julianne’s brother posted a sweet tribute to his sister on his Instagram Story. He shared a photo of them, which appears to have been taken from their time on DWTS. In his message, he called it “an honor” to be her brother and said he is “grateful for the journey” they have shared. Derek also posted an adorable throwback photo from when they were children.
Despite sharing the well-wishes that her loved ones have posted for her, Julianne has provided no update on how she is spending her birthday.
As the tributes for Hough pour in, we are taking a closer look at her friendship with Ribeiro. In an interview with Us Weekly in August 2024, he discussed their work dynamic. “I can’t wait to tackle that stage with Julianne. The both of us together — especially over the last year — we’ve gotten to be really close friends, and we enjoy working with each other,” Ribeiro told Us Weekly.
In September 2024, Ribeiro commented on his bond with Hough once again, celebrating their closeness. “We were already close. We’ve gotten even way tighter over the last year,” he told TV Insider. “She comes over to the house, we hang out, we have lunch. We just have a great rapport. And so the energy, I think, is going to be even better this season.”
He also referred to the experience of working with Julianne as co-hosts of DWTS as “special.”
“The show is about a professional dancer with a celebrity coming together to go through the season and hopefully win. But pro and celebrity [are] now riding through the entire season with them. We get to do that journey with them,” he said. “It’s special.”
“You Make Life Magic”: Julianne Hough Turns 37 as She’s Celebrated by Her ‘Partner in Crime’ in a Heartfelt Birthday Tribute!
On July 20, 2025, Julianne Hough didn’t just turn 37; she was wrapped in the kind of love that makes the internet collectively clutch its pearls and reach for the tissues. While most of us were nursing Sunday scaries, Julianne’s phone was blowing up with the most swoon-worthy birthday tribute of the year, courtesy of the man she affectionately calls her “partner in crime,” Brooks Laich. Yes, the same Brooks Laich who was once her husband, then her ex, and now (in the sweetest plot twist since The Notebook) her chosen family, best friend, and the person who still looks at her like she hung the moon.
The post hit Instagram at 8:03 a.m. Mountain Time, right as the Utah sun was painting the Wasatch Mountains gold behind their shared cabin. Brooks dropped a carousel of ten photos and one video that felt less like a birthday tribute and more like a love letter the world was accidentally allowed to read.
Slide one: Julianne at 4 a.m., barefoot on the kitchen counter in one of Brooks’ oversized flannels, stealing a bite of the gluten-free birthday cake she wasn’t supposed to touch until noon. Her hair is a wild halo, eyes half-closed, mouth mid-laugh, frosting on her nose. Caption overlaid in Brooks’ handwriting font: “You make life magic.”
Slide two: a throwback to 2013, the night they met at a holiday party; Julianne in a red mini dress, Brooks in a too-tight Christmas sweater, both trying (and failing) to look casual while clearly thunderstruck.
Slide three: Julianne mid-rehearsal for her upcoming Broadway return, sweat-drenched, pointing at the camera like she’s daring the universe itself.
Slide four: the two of them on a frozen lake in Canada last winter, Brooks teaching her to ice-fish while she squeals every time the line tugs.
Slide five: a candid from their 1970s-themed joint 37th birthday party the night before (yes, they share the same birthday week), Julianne in bell-bottoms and a halter top, Brooks in a ridiculous afro wig, both holding sparklers and screaming the words to “September.”
And then the video. Oh, the video.
It opens with Brooks sitting on the edge of their bed at dawn, holding a steaming mug of coffee he clearly made for her. He’s wearing the same soft gray T-shirt he slept in, hair sticking up, voice still raspy from sleep.
“Jules,” he says, looking straight into the camera like he’s talking only to her even though a million people would eventually watch, “today you’re thirty-seven, and I’ve known you for almost thirteen of those years. I’ve watched you rise, fall, rebuild, and rise again, brighter every single time. You teach me every day what it means to live out loud, to choose joy even when it’s hard, to love without keeping score.”
He pauses, swallows hard, and you can actually hear Julianne off-camera start to cry.
“You are the most courageous person I know,” he continues. “You turned pain into purpose, heartbreak into art, and somehow you still find room to make everyone around you feel like the most important person in the room. I’m so proud to be your friend, your family, your partner in crime. The world is lucky you were born, but I’m the luckiest because I get to stand next to you while you make life magic. Happy birthday, Jules. Here’s to 37 being the year the universe finally catches up to how incredible you are.”
The video ends with him crawling across the bed to kiss her forehead while she sobs happy tears into his shoulder. The final slide is just text on a black screen:
“To the girl who taught me that love doesn’t have to look traditional to be real. Forever your #1 fan. – B”
Within an hour the post had 4.2 million likes. By noon, #YouMakeLifeMagic was trending worldwide. Derek Hough commented a simple string of crying emojis and “I’m not okay.” Hayley Erbert wrote, “This is what healing looks like.” Ariana Grande posted a voice note singing “Happy Birthday” in three-part harmony with herself. Even Taylor Swift slid into the comments with a single red heart (the internet lost its mind for seventeen straight minutes).
Julianne’s response came hours later, a mirror post that felt like the other half of the same heartbeat. She shared a photo of the two of them on the cabin porch at sunset, her head on his shoulder, both of them barefoot and wrapped in the same blanket.
“Brooks Laich,” she wrote, “thirteen years ago you walked into my life and everything got brighter. We’ve been through every season (marriage, separation, growth, and now this beautiful, unconventional, perfect friendship), and every single chapter you’ve shown up with your whole heart. You see me (really see me), and you love me anyway. Thank you for reminding me that love isn’t about possession; it’s about celebration. I’m so grateful the universe gave me you, not once, but twice. Here’s to 37: the year of magic, chosen family, and dancing like nobody’s watching (except you, always you). I love you more than words. – J”
By midnight, the two posts combined had generated over 12 million interactions, spawned thousands of “exes-to-best-friends” threads, and quietly redefined what a modern love story can look like when two people choose grace over bitterness.
As Julianne blew out her 37 candles on a porch overlooking the mountains, surrounded by the man who knows her soul better than anyone, one thing was crystal clear: sometimes the greatest love stories aren’t the ones that end in “till death do us part.” Sometimes they’re the ones that evolve into “I’ll be here, no matter what form this takes.”
And on July 20, 2025, Julianne Hough didn’t just turn 37.
She turned the page on a love that refused to end, it just learned how to fly.
