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“I didn’t want to do a demure shoot where I was trying
to cover my body,” she says. “I wanted to do something
where I was free.” Though the America’s Got Talent
judge says she’s never been shy when changing in front
of other dancers, the photo shoot shifted her perspec-
tive. “Now I’m walking around naked all the time, and
I love it!” she says.
For Julianne, that unabashed body love has, at times,
been hard-earned. Back in 2008, following a diagnosis
of endometriosis—a condition in which the tissue lining
the uterus (the endometrium) forms outside of it, caus-
ing severe pelvic pain during menstruation and sex—
Ju l ia n ne g r apple d w it h fe el i ng s of i n se c u r it y. On ly a f ter
accepting her endo as part of her was she able to see it in
a new light. “I feel I’ve created a more peaceful and har-
monious relationship with it.”
Acknowledging the aspects of her condition that may
be out of her control (like getting pregnant, as almost
40 percent of women with endometriosis struggle with
infertility, according to the American College of Obste-
tricians and Gynecologists) has also been a challenge.
There hasn’t been a specific “you cannot have children”
talk with her doctor, but in June, Julianne and her hus-
ba nd reve a le d t hey were st a r t i ng i n v it ro fer t i l i z at ion
to increase their chances of conceiving. And she’s
choosing to look on the bright side: “I’ve always put it
out there that it’s going to be okay,” she says.
Knowing she has Brooks by her side through the ups
and downs only reinforces her resilience. However,
there was a moment during the past year when she
fe a re d he wou ld n’t v ibe w it h her evolut ion. “I wa s c on-
necting to the woman inside that doesn’t need any-
t h i ng, ver su s t he l it t le g i rl t hat lo oke d to h i m to prote c t
me,” she remembers. “I was like, ‘Is he going to love this
version of me?’ But the more I dropped into my most
authentic self, the more attracted he was to me. Now we
have a more intimate relationship.”
That new intimacy has allowed Julianne to reveal
truths to her husband that even he didn’t know. “I [told
him], ‘You know I’m not straight, right?’ And he was
like, ‘I’m sorry, what?’ I was like, ‘I’m not. But I choose
to be with you,’ ” she says. “I think there’s a safety with
my husband now that I’m unpacking all of this, and
there’s no fear of voicing things that I’ve been afraid to
admit or that I’ve had shame or guilt about because of
what I’ve been told or how I was raised.”
Julianne’s radical evolution has also helped her recon-
nect with another love: music. Though her first album
debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country
Albums chart in 2008 and she won the Top New Artist
award at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2009,
the lead single on her never-released second album
underperformed, and she halted her music career in- “I gave up because of my fear of failure,” she ad-
mits. She’s since changed her tune and has started writ-
ing lyrics again. And no surprise here: “Every song has
been about transformation,” she says. “It’s so where I’m
at. Being able to move stuck energy, I let down my walls.”
With her sense of emotional and mental well-being
transformed, Julianne is careful not to ignore the physi-
cal either. She exercises five days a week, doing a mix of
SoulCycle and hot power yoga, plus weight training
with her husband. And she’s started to love her early
workouts, even if she’s not a morning person. “If I don’t
move my body in the morning, I have a fine day,” she
says. “If I move it first thing, I have an excellent day.”
Before every workout, she slurps down a glass of
lu kewa r m water w it h ha l f a lemon, 8 to 12 ou nc e s of
celery juice, a green superfood drink, two tablespoons
of apple cider vinegar, and an adrenal supplement.
Post-sweat, she drinks a healthy-fats shake made with
avocado, almond butter, almond milk, spinach, protein
powder, blueberries, and a banana. She loves switching
up her main meals and eating different kinds of
body-nourishing dishes, but she tries to stick to one
rule, given her health struggles: Avoid foods that
cause inflammation.
And though she’s committed to maintaining all of
the habits she’s adopted—from the morning exercise
routine to the more mind-blowing relationship and
internal changes she’s made on her journey—one thing
i s c er t a i n: Ju l ia n ne k now s she’ l l c ont i nue to evolve.
“I’m going to shift for the rest of my life,” she says.
“I’m not like, ‘Oh, I got it.’ But I’m trusting myself now,
and when I’m totally connected to me, I feel full. I want
others to see that in themselves too.” There’s a transfor-
mation in motion for Julianne...and one just waiting to
be sparked in the rest of us. Who’s in?
“I didn’t want to do a demure
shoot where I was trying to cover
my body,” she says. “I wanted to
do something where I was free.”
HAIR: Riawna Capri for In Common. MAKEUP: Debra Ferullo/
TraceyMattingly.com. MANICURE: Nails by Maho.