Derek Hough and wife Hayley Erbert took a different approach to life after her emergency craniectomy.
In a new interview with PEOPLE at 10, Dancing with the stars Judge, 39, explains how he and Erbert, 29, managed to heal each other after she underwent emergency surgery in December 2023 after being hospitalized with a cranial hematoma.
Hough admits it’s “really hard” to watch a loved one heal, but he approached it with one specific mantra and exercise, revealing how they “really tried to stay in the moment, stay present.”
“That’s a lot easier said than done, and it just sounds like such a phrase,” he says, noting that “it’s one of the things that [he] really learned from Hayley during that time,” and that’s something “that helped [him] with.”
Derek Hough and wife Hayley Erbert have a date at the 2024 Emmys, 9 months after her emergency surgery
“Honestly, she was just in the moment, you know, not focusing on what was going to happen, what was the future,” he explains. “It was just about, ‘What can I do now to help them, or even help myself,’ and just stay present.”
Hayley Erbert and Derek Hough.
Kayla Oaddams/Getty
Hough notes that as you watch someone heal, there is “anxiety and fear that comes from worrying about what’s to come, what’s going to happen.”
“That’s where a lot of the fear happens,” he continues. “So I think it’s staying in the moment, which is not easy to do.”
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The professional dancer also shares some other helpful tips he’s learned to get through difficult situations, including “listen to things that will help you, get you in the right state of mind to put yourself in the right state to help that person heal, help you heal. ”
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Hayley Erbert and Derek Hough arrive at the Mercedes-Benz Oscars on March 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Timothy Norris/FilmMagic
A timeline of Hayley Erbert’s health scare and her ongoing recovery
Last year, on December 7, 2023, Hough revealed on Instagram that Erbert had been rushed to the hospital after experiencing symptoms of a cranial hematoma — when blood collects in the skull — while on their Symphony of Dance tour.
A week later, he posted another update saying his wife needed a skull implant to “replace a piece [of the skull] which was removed during a craniectomy.”
Following Erbert’s surgery, the couple shared an emotional post-surgery video on Instagram in which they discussed Erbert’s “miraculous” recovery and thanked everyone who sent her words of support during her recovery.
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Hayley Erbert and Derek Hough on June 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty
Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert Relationship Timeline
Since recovering from her surgery, Erbert and Hough celebrated their first wedding anniversary by sharing an Instagram together on Monday, August 26. Recently, on Wednesday, September 25, Hough said Hey! News that he and Erbert “definitely want to have a family eventually.”
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“We will see what is in the cards, what is on the horizon. Little dancing kids running around,” he said.
“She is a miracle,” added the proud husband of Erbert. “She really is, and I don’t say that lightly.”
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Source: HIS Education