Dancing Couple Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert Return to the Ballroom Following Health Scare

Hayley Erbert and Derek Hough attend the world premiere of Disney and Pixar's "Inside Out 2" in Los Angeles on June 10, 2024. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney/Pixar

“Dancing with the Stars” pro and judge Derek Hough found a permanent dance partner in his wife, Hayley Erbert, but after her recent health scare, he questioned whether their return to the ballroom would ever be possible.

In a joint Oct. 16 interview with People magazine, the two opened up about Erbert’s cranial hematoma diagnosis after wrapping up an emotional performance during the show’s Oct. 15 live taping.

The couple, both ballroom dancers, performed to “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boon during the show’s “dedication night,” a moment that displayed strength, recovery, and gratitude.

“This fall was always the most welcoming energy and it was beautiful to be here, to be able to share it with him. And I’m just grateful to be here,” said Erbert, 30.

“I was like in those moments we never even, it was not even a thought like, ‘Oh, we’re going to dance again,’ honestly,” added Hough, 39. “And then to be here, it’s unbelievable. It’s just hard to put it into words.”

In December 2023, just four months after the couple tied the knot, Erbert underwent emergency brain surgery after a blood vessel burst while she was performing on a dance tour, causing a collection of blood within the skull.

Before their return to “Dancing with the Stars,” the show aired an introductory video package showing their journey up until that moment back on the dance floor.

“When they played the package, that’s when I started losing it because I actually haven’t seen a lot of the footage in quite some time because I’ve just been focusing on progressing every single day,” said Erbert. “And so to go back to that, I was just flooded with emotions, but it was extremely special to be out here.”

“Tonight was just sort of the beginning of telling the full story,” Hough added.

“We shared a little bit more video and photos of what had happened to show us something to the extent of the severity of it. But this is the beginning and there’s so much more to tell this story and we’re so excited to share the rest of it.”

During one part of the video, Hough recalled the wave of emotions he felt when he realized the severity of his wife’s situation.

“We rush her 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,” Hough said in the clip.

“He said that she might not make it and that even if she does make it, she won’t be the same person.”

Hayley Erbert and Derek Hough attend the Fourth Annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards in Los Angeles on June 12, 2022. Rich Polk/Getty Images for the Critics Choice Real TV Awards

At the time of the incident, Hough took to Instagram to share what had happened in the middle of their “Symphony of Dance” tour, noting it began when Erbert “became disoriented” before being taken to the hospital.

“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,” he wrote at the time.

Since then, Erbert has been taking things one day at a time and says listening to her body has been her primary focus.

“I can tell when something’s off and I'll be like, ‘Ooh, that doesn’t feel quite right. I shouldn’t be doing this move or I shouldn’t be doing this number,’” she told People. “And so I feel like I am being smart in that way of just being like, I’m going to listen to myself.”

Hough first became a pro on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2007, and Erbert later joined the show as a troupe member in 2016.