Derek Hough and Wife Hayley Erbert Found Love in the Ballroom! Get to Know ‘DWTS’ Judge’s Spouse

Dancing With the Stars judge Derek Hough is a devoted husband to wife Hayley Erbert. The couple has been through a lot together, but its only made them stronger.

How Did Derek Hough Meet Hayley Erbert?

Hayley is a So You Think You Can Dance alum, who joined Derek and his sister, Julianne Hough, on her Move Live Tour in 2014. The following year, Derek and Hayley started dating.

Both Derek and Julianne have been part of DWTS over the years in different capacities. Hayley was a member of the troupe for multiple seasons, bringing her to the dance floor with Derek from time to time.

Derek and Hayley confirmed their engagement in January 2022 in a post on Instagram. Months later, he dished on the romantic proposal.

“I just love calling her my fiancée,” he told Us Weekly in June 2022. “I think that word now feels right to the way I feel and to my commitment to her and to our love and story and life together. … Hayley is The One.”

“I know she’s just going to be an amazing mother and amazing wife and she’s so thoughtful, so caring, so loving,” he said. “Just seeing the way she is with our animals, I mean if she’s even a quarter of the way she is with our animals how she is with our kids I just can’t wait to see her be a mom.”

Inside Derek Hough’s Wedding to Hayley Erbert

Derek and Hayley got married in August 2023 in Monterey County, California, in front of 106 guests. Many DWTS alums were in attendance for the big day.

“We went to Disney a couple of weeks ago, and there was the cutest little old couple, and they were swing dancing. There was a band playing, and I was like, that’s so sweet. I want to do that when we’re older,” the blushing bride told People after the nuptials. “That’s what I look forward to is dancing until the end of time together and loving each other until the end of time.”

Hayley Erbert Suffered a Medical Emergency

In December 2023, Derek revealed in an Instagram post that Hayley experienced a health emergency while on their Symphony of Dance tour.

“At the end of last night’s tour performance in Washington, D.C., my wife Hayley became disoriented and was taken to the hospital,” he wrote in a statement. “She was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel and required an emergency craniectomy. She is in stable condition.”

“I want to thank the first responders and medical personnel who have cared for and continue to care for her. I ask for your prayers and positivity during this time,” he added.

Days later, he shared another update on his wife’s health, saying she was “now on the long road of recovery.” That month, Hayley underwent skull surgery.

“With immense relief, gratitude and overwhelming joy I’d like to share that Hayley’s cranioplasty surgery has been successfully completed as planned,” Derek shared on Instagram.

In April 2024, Hayley returned to the stage during the emotional night of Symphony of Dance tour in Florida.

“To this day, I still have really good days and I have really bad days — emotionally and physically sometimes — but I’m doing so much better every single day,” she said. “Truly there is so much progress every day, and I’m so grateful for that.”

And their relationship is still going strong! They celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary in August 2024.

“One year of being married to the most beautiful human I know. What a whirlwind of a year it has been,” Derek wrote on Instagram. “Full of unforeseen challenges but overflowing with even more love, support, and triumphs. We’ve seen the highest highs and faced the lowest lows, but I’ve never been more certain that I made the best decision of my life a year ago, committing to you in this lifetime. Cheers to many more years of chaotic beauty. I’m so excited for all the future chapters we have yet to write. I love you always and forever.”