Julianne Hough thanks co-star's memory for latest love

Footloose star Julianne Hough owes her latest romance to a former castmate's good memory.

The actress and singer, who shot to fame as a dancer on Dancing With the Stars show, became engaged to Brooks Laich last year (15), and she tells Cosmopolitan magazine she never would have met her fiance had it not been for a matchmaking co-star.

"I did a horror movie that never got released (and) I'm convinced the only reason I was meant to do that movie was to meet my fiance," Julianne tells the magazine. "Six years prior, Teddy Sears, my co-star, tried to invite Brooks, who was a good friend of his, to visit him in L.A. Brooks, who knows nothing about pop culture, joked, 'What are you going to do, hook me up with that Juicy Fruit starlet?'

"He'd seen the commercial and was like, 'Where do I meet a girl like that?' I was the girl in the commercial! Teddy remembered that comment and texted Brooks, 'You're never going to guess who I'm doing a movie with'."

Julianne, who has previously dated TV and radio personality Ryan Seacrest and country singer Chuck Wicks, fell for ice hockey player Brooks and he proposed to her in August (15).

The couple announced the big news via Instagram with a photo of the dancer and actress posing with her new ring.

Since the big engagement, the future Mr and Mrs Laich have spent a lot of time apart, with Julianne preparing to play Sandy in the upcoming Grease: Live TV event, but she admits they call each other all the time - and have even tried a little phone sex.

"I'm really bad at it," she says. "I'll get halfway through and start laughing. It's an art. I applaud people who are good at it. They need to come and help me keep a straight face!"