Heavy/Getty/ABC Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert.
Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert posed for two playful photos on Super Bowl Sunday. Ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs game against the San Francisco 49ers on February 11, 2024, the “Dancing With the Stars” couple showed off their team spirit with rival sweatshirts: one for the Chiefs and one for Taylor Swift.
Hough, 38, and Erbert, 29, got married in August 2023 but their happy newlywed phase was cut short when Erbert suffered a medical emergency in December. While on the Symphony of Dance tour with her husband in Washington D.C., Erbert underwent two life-saving surgeries for a cranial hematoma. Two months later, the couple shared a lighthearted moment as they celebrated the Super Bowl.
Here’s what you need to know:
Hayley Erbert Showed Support For Her Hometown Team
Just two months after her medical emergency, Erbert posed with Hough ahead of Super Bowl LVIII. In photos shared to Instagram, Erbert wore a white Kansas City Chiefs sweatshirt, while Hough wore a red sweatshirt that said “Team Taylor.” Erbert was smiling and laughing as she posed with her arms out.
“One of us is from Kansas, the other isn’t. Can you guess who ? @hayley.erbert #Super Bowl,” Hough captioned the post.
Many fans commented to say how great it was to see Erbert so happy.
“Sooooo good to see Hayley smiling!!! Go Chiefs!!!!!” one fan wrote.
“Can we just focus on how great Haley looks! Haley is the winner clearly! ❤” another wrote.
While one commenter noted that the Chiefs are based in Kansas City, Missouri, others pointed out it is still considered the hometown team for Erbert, who hails from Topeka, Kansas. In addition, Erbert trained as a dancer at Priscilla and Dana’s School of Dance in Kansas City, MO, per the Topeka Capital-Journal.
As for Hough, he really is a Taylor Swift fan—and not just because she has appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” and even had a theme night in her honor. In 2015, Hough was photographed attending a Swift concert, per Just Jared. His “Team Taylor” sweatshirt appears to be a cheeky retort to his wife’s Chiefs gear. Swift has been dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce since fall 2023.
In the end, both Erbert and Hough were winners. The Chiefs beat out the 49ers, 25-22 in overtime, thrilling Kansas City fans and Swifties alike.
Derek & Hayley’s Fun Photos Came One Week After They Gave a Serious Update
Hough and Erbert’s Super Bowl salute came just one week after they shared a serious health update with fans. In a video posted to Instagram, the couple shared an emotional update on Erbert’s health.
Addressing her emergency craniotomy and later cranioplasty, Erbert told her followers she got through it all due to all of the love and support that surrounded her.
“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. Life is so precious. Spend time with the ones you love, hold them close because you never know what could happen.”
Of his wife’s strength and perseverance, Hough said, “She really is a miracle and it’s been miraculous and it’s still a journey.”
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