Brooks Laich is still hoping to start a family someday!

Just over a week after it was announced he and wife Julianne Hough have decided to lovingly separate, the 36-year-old retired NHL player opened up about the kind of father he wants to be at some point in the near future. As a reminder, the couple did not welcome any children together during their three-year-long marriage.

Related: Brooks Laich ‘Was Fighting’ Against Julianne Hough Breakup For Months!

The topic was brought up on Sunday’s episode of the How Men Think podcast as Brooks, co-host Gavin DeGraw, and special guest Scott Evans discussed the current state of America and the national conversation about ending systemic racism. That’s when Laich admitted his desire to become a dad, noting:

“It’s important to me. I hope to be a father one day. I hope to have the world be a better place for them… one day.”

We couldn’t agree more with his sentiment. It’s absolutely our responsibility to create a better world for the children of tomorrow and not to mention, Poppa Brooks has a nice ring to it, too! He previously opened up about the idea during an October 2019 episode of his show, explaining why this chapter of his life as a (now former) married man was the perfect time to have kids:

“I didn’t think I could do that in my 20s while I was devoting all this time to hockey, which is what … full transparency, selfishly I fully wanted to do. I needed to do that for myself. So now that I’m 36, I feel I do have the space in my life.”

The Canadian-native explained how he and the DWTS alum were still figuring out how the decision would affect their relationship:

“I’m now not an athlete, I’m not playing hockey. So what does life look like now? There’s still a figuring-out process of a new identity for myself. Also with my wife, our relationship — it’s a new identity for our relationship as well.”

Of course, as you know, Laich and Hough are no longer together so it’s unclear when and how the star plans to get started on a family. We haven’t heard any reports of someone new in his life, either!

As it turns out the couple did their due diligence before splitting up; in the Fall, Brooks told Us Weekly the two were trying to conceive via in-vitro fertilization. However, late last month, Julianne clarified they “never actually tried to get pregnant,” adding:

“It was more of a precautionary measure: Let’s do our due diligence for the future by freezing eggs.”

And shortly after that admission, things were officially over! A source close to Jules told People about the pair’s decision to split:

“It took them a while to get here, but now they both understand that they shouldn’t spend the rest of their lives together — not as spouses. They are hoping to move forward as deeply loving friends forever who will always be supportive and encouraging of one another.”

Do U think they could make it as “deeply loving friends” and modern-day co-parents, too??

[Image via WENN/Avalon/Instar]

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