Hayley Erbert and Derek Hough in June 2023; Julianne Hough on Feb. 10.Photo:Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty; Gotham/GC Images
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty; Gotham/GC Images
Derek Hough’s family rallied around him amid his wifeHayley Erbert’srecent health crisis.
TheDancing with the Starsjudge, 38, is preparing to return to his Symphony of Dance tour on April 16 in Tampa, Florida, and he tells PEOPLE exclusively that his family has been “incredible” in the months since Erbert, 27, wasrushed to the hospital for an emergency craniectomyduring their tour stop in Washington, D.C.
“They were some of the first to show up in Washington and stay there and even live with us there,” he says of how his parents andsiblings— Sharee, Marabeth, Katherine andJulianne— were on a “rotation” of sorts as they helped care for Erbert and Hough himself in the days that followed the surgery in early December.
“They would come in three days and then the next siblings would come in for the next three days, and then the next siblings,” he recalls of the support system that surrounded them. “My dad showing up the day it all happened, flying from Utah. They really showed up in a really beautiful way.”
Julianne, 35, was particularly present for the couple, who hadwedjust four months before, as she flew to Washington, D.C. and stayed for “two weeks” to help. “It was just amazing,” Derek says.
It wasn’t just the Hough family that stepped up, though — Erbert’s family, too, were “of course” there for the couple, along with many of their close friends.
Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert.Derek Hough/Instagram
Derek Hough/Instagram
The way their inner circles rallied around them was one thing, Derek says, but it wasthe widespread public supportthat really touched the couple.
“The thing that really makes us — and really her — the most emotional about all of this is just the love that she felt from not just family and friends, but just from everyone. It’s a really beautiful feeling and we’re just really thankful for that.”
The experience has put the couple’s wedding vows “to the test, fast,” Derek acknowledges, buthe’s utterly in awe of his wife.
“She’s incredible. She really is. I double take all the time just seeing the way she’s handled this situation with just such elegance and a sense of just accepting it for what it is,” he raves of the fellow dancer, who he’s been with since 2016.
“She’s just an unbelievably determined person and has been unbelievably strong through this whole experience,” he adds.
Derek Hough, Hayley Erbert, Julianne Hough attend the 2017 Creative Arts Emmy Awards Creative Arts Ball on September 9, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.Neilson Barnard/Getty
Neilson Barnard/Getty
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“It’s really inspiring,” he tells PEOPLE.
“We’ve gone through a lot of things in our life and our relationship, and this is another one that just, I guess, proves and even deepens our love for one another and our commitment to each other.”
source: people.com
