Pregnant wife of Derek Hough, Hayley Erbert: from dancing to nature

Derek Hough and his wife Hayley Erbert have experienced many ups and downs, such as her craniectomy. But since then, the couple and their love have only grown stronger over time, and now they are expecting their first child together!

Derek and Hayley are known to be very talented dancers who met when Hayley joined Derek and Julianne Hough’s MOVE Live Tour in 2014. Their paths crossed again when Hayley was hired for the 21st season of Dancing With the Stars, which ended in another winning season for Derek, who was partnered with Bindi Irwin. They began dating at some point after that, but did not publicly announce their relationship until 2017. In addition to dancing, Hayley is a nature lover and a woman of many talents.

Keep reading to learn more about Derek’s wife!

Hayley was born and raised in Texas. She has one older brother, Collin Erbert. She has mentioned him several times on her Instagram, for example, with a photo of them looking adorable together as children. It is unknown what Collin does professionally, but he graduated from college in 2015. It can be said that he chose a life away from the spotlight, just by looking at his Instagram page. This does not mean he hasn’t met celebrities. In 2016, he posted a photo with Julianne Hough on the night she starred in Grease Live! on Fox. He joked that he set that photo as his phone background.

Hayley became known as a finalist on the 10th season of So You Think You Can Dance, which was a turning point in her career as a professional dancer. However, Hayley also had a passion for beauty pageants. She was the first runner-up in the Miss Kansas Teen USA 2013 pageant. However, looking at her Instagram page, you wouldn’t guess that. Her old Instagram photos, starting from 2012, focus on her dance endeavors and everyday life with friends. There are no photos of her smiling on stage during a beauty pageant. The only photo of her wearing a crown is a snapshot from her 22nd birthday, captioned with the famous words of Taylor Swift: «I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22».

If being a renowned dancer isn’t enough, Hayley has repeatedly proven how athletic she is beyond the dance floor. She shares several photos of herself engaging in water sports such as wake surfing and surfing. In 2021, she tried surfing, and although the video she posted of herself in the water doesn’t show her standing on the board, she looks like she could handle it in no time. Additionally, a 2017 photo of her wake surfing seemed like something anyone could do.

If her visible participation in water sports doesn’t show Hayley’s deep connection to nature, the multitude of posts scattered throughout her Instagram confirm it. Hayley posted a carousel of photos on her Instagram page on Earth Day 2022 and captioned it: «How lucky are we to call this place home?! Happy Earth Day!» Some of the photos she shared included selfies with a gorilla, swimming with dolphins, enjoying a waterfall, walking on sandy dunes, and watching the sunset. In 2021, Hayley posted photos from a safari in Kenya with Derek, smiling in Joshua Tree National Park and engaging in underwater swimming in Hawaii. She has also never been shy about her love for animals, which she has been posting about since 2012. It is clear that Hayley can dance through nature again and again!

Hayley does not have children of her own, but she has a pack of pets! She and Derek are proud owners of two dogs and two cats. The dogs' names are Luna and Romi, and the cats' names are Palo and Lily. The professional dancer shared a photo in October 2020 where the cats are playing, while Romi asks for hugs and Luna watches over the cats, and she said it «pretty much sums up her life» and that she wouldn’t «change it for the world»