Hayley Erbert Shares How Marriage to Derek Hough Has Changed

Heavy/Getty Hayley Erbert shares how things have changed with Derek Hough.

It’s no secret that Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert have had an emotional year. In an interview with ET, Erbert explained how her marriage to Hough has changed since her health emergency in December 2023.

“Throughout all of this, it’s made me love and appreciate him more,” Erbert said of her relationship. “I kept saying, like, I’ve never really seen him in a true nurturing position, and after my surgery, I did. And it was the most beautiful thing to see and it made me just love him even more,” she added.

Erbert was admitted to a hospital in Washington D.C. after falling ill. She underwent emergency surgery when doctors found an intercranial hematoma. At that point in time, doctors warned Hough that Erbert may never be the same. However, she’s made a miraculous recovery over the past several months.

Derek Hough & Hayley Erbert Performed on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 33

Ten months after Erbert’s terrifying health emergency, she and her husband took the stage at “Dancing With the Stars.”

“Last night was such a powerful, full-circle moment for us. To be back in the ballroom, performing together again. Feels like an absolute miracle. There were moments when it seemed impossible that we’d ever get back to this place,” Hough captioned an Instagram post on October 16, 2024.

He and Erbert performed a contemporary routine to a version of Benjamin Boone’s “Beautiful Things.”

“We’re so thankful to the doctors and nurses who saved her life, our family and friends, and to all the people whose love and support poured in during this time. Your care has been such a huge part of her recovery. Last night was just the beginning of sharing our story, and we can’t wait to take you along on the rest of this journey. We love you all so much, and we’re just overwhelmed with gratitude,” Hough added.

Derek Hough & Hayley Erbert Are Making a Documentary to Share Their Full Story

Hough and Erbert have decided to make a documentary as a way to share their story with the world.

The “Dancing With the Stars” judge gave a glimpse into what happened on that fateful night in December 2023 that changed their lives forever.

“I was on stage and she’s supposed to come out. The stage manager walked out and just said, ‘Hey, she’s not coming on stage.’ She was on the side of the stage having full seizures. And essentially dying,” Hough said in a package created for DWTS.

“It’s really hard to even put into words other than just pure fear. We rushed to the hospital. She’s still in her costume. And the doctor came to me and he said that she has a severe brain bleed. So we have to operate right now. He said that she might not make it. And that even if she does make it, she won’t be the same person,” he added.

However, Hough and Erbert have said there’s a lot more to the story that they plan on sharing down the road.

“A good friend of mine, Jason Bergh, he’s an award-winning, you know, filmmaker. And when everything was happening, he just said, he goes, ‘hey man, can I just come film you when you guys start to dance again?’ ‘Cuz he’s like, ‘I can’t believe you’re dancing again.’ So, he came into the studio, started filming it and then just kept filming, kept coming with us to hospital visits, came out on the road with us,” Hough told ET.

He said that Bergh captured much of the “whole journey,” which Hough called “beautiful.”

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