From First Twirl to Forever: Derek Hough & Hayley Erbert’s Love Story, Setbacks, and the Sweetest New Beginning

 

Every great dance tells a story. For Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert, it’s a tale of timing, grit, and grace—two professionals who met on the job, built a life in motion, survived a life-altering health crisis, and now stand on the edge of their most joyful chapter yet: parenthood.

Meet-cute, dancer edition

They first crossed paths in the world that made them both: Dancing With the Stars. What began as rehearsals and tour buses evolved—slowly—into a partnership that felt as natural as a perfect 8-count. Years of shared choreography turned into shared coffee, then shared dreams. By June 2022, Derek proposed, a quietly spectacular yes that felt inevitable if you’d been watching the way they moved together. 

“I do” beneath the redwoods

On August 26, 2023, the couple married in Monterey County, California, choosing a redwood grove that looked like a cathedral built by the earth itself. The whole day read like a Derek & Hayley signature: elegant, emotive, and full of movement—vows under ancient trees, a reception that felt like a storybook, and a dance floor that stayed warm long after the last toast. It was romantic, yes, but also intentional: a ceremony choreographed around family, friends, and the promise to keep choosing each other no matter what the next act demanded. 

The night everything changed

Then came December 7, 2023. After a tour stop outside Washington, D.C., Hayley became disoriented and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors discovered a cranial hematoma caused by a burst blood vessel; she needed an emergency craniectomy. In a single, terrifying beat, the couple’s life pivoted from curtain calls to critical care. Derek’s updates were steady and clear, a partner’s voice learning the vocabulary of scans and swelling and second surgeries. Hayley later underwent a follow-up procedure to replace part of her skull—a clinical sentence that can’t contain the courage it required. 

Recovery as choreography

Healing, it turns out, is its own kind of dance—one step forward, half step back, again and again. Hayley shared pieces of that path with fans: gratitude for progress, the humility of starting slow, the joy of a good day. Derek called her a miracle. They learned to celebrate tiny milestones with the same enthusiasm they bring to standing ovations. And in true Hough-Erbert fashion, they eventually took the stage again—proof that love can carry rhythm back into a room even after the music stops. 

Back to the lights, together

By 2024 and into 2025, the couple’s public appearances doubled as little victory laps. Hand in hand at premieres, beaming on carpets, letting the world see the glow of ordinary happiness: a night out, a laugh, a look that says we earned this. They were careful with their energy—and generous with their joy. 

The sweetest plot twist: baby on the way

In July 2025, Derek and Hayley announced they’re expecting their first child, a reveal that felt less like news and more like a blessing you could see from space. Since then, they’ve shared moments that radiate that brand-new-parent light: baby-bump glam on date night, a “babymoon” framed with words like my joy, my queen, my rockstar. It’s pure gratitude—made brighter by everything they’ve overcome. 

Why their love story resonates

1) They move in sync—on and off stage. The way they approach art—disciplined, brave, and collaborative—mirrors the way they approach life. You can see it in their choices: thoughtful career pivots, intentional celebrations, a shared vocabulary for big feelings and hard days. 

2) They turned crisis into closeness. The health emergency could have broken their rhythm. Instead, it taught them a new one—patience over perfection, presence over performance. When they talk about that period, the theme is consistent: love isn’t just what you feel under spotlights; it’s what you practice in hospital hallways. 

3) They model hopeful beginnings. Engagement under the stars. Vows in a forest. A baby on the way. Each milestone feels like the next variation on a melody they’ve been writing since rehearsal rooms and tour buses. Their story says: you can have craft and softness, ambition and tenderness, a public life and a fiercely private center. 

Little moments, big meanings

Fans adore the showstoppers—first dance, ring reveals, baby announcements—but the quiet snapshots tell the fuller truth. It’s the hand squeeze captured on a premiere carpet. It’s Derek’s glittering one-liner that somehow still lands like a love letter. It’s Hayley’s updates that always, always circle back to gratitude. Those are the beats that make a relationship feel lived-in rather than staged. 

What’s next for the Houghs

Next comes the most unscripted choreography of all: late-night feeds, soft-focus mornings, a house where lullabies replace show tunes (okay, maybe they’ll share the playlist). Professionally, Derek will keep judging and creating; Hayley will keep doing what she’s always done—bring beauty to rooms just by walking into them. But if you’ve followed this arc, you know the headline: their greatest production is about to call them Mom and Dad.

The takeaway:
This isn’t simply a romance between two brilliant dancers. It’s a masterclass in resilience—how to love each other through applause and uncertainty, how to rebuild after the unthinkable, how to keep saying yes in a world that sometimes says wait. From that first twirl to the tiny kicks of a future duet partner, Derek and Hayley’s story keeps sticking the landing—beautifully, bravely, together.