There are times in a person’s public life when all the performance is stripped away, leaving behind something genuine and unvarnished. When his wife Hayley Erbert passed out on the side of a stage in Washington, D.C., in December 2023 due to a burst blood vessel in her brain, it was that moment for Derek Hough, the polished judge on Dancing with the Stars and the choreographer who makes everything look effortless.
During their Symphony of Dance tour, she lost her bearings in the middle of a performance. What appeared to be fatigue proved to be disastrous. She was diagnosed by medical professionals with a cranial hematoma, which is a dangerous accumulation of blood inside the skull that severely compresses the brain. The treatment was instantaneous rather than optional or gradual. In an emergency craniectomy, surgeons removed 40% of Hayley’s skull to relieve pressure and preserve her life.
It’s difficult to avoid staring at that number for a while. Forty percent. While her husband waited somewhere outside those operating room doors, almost half of her skull was gone. In interviews since then, Derek has described the horror of those hours, saying that Hayley had, in his own words, practically died. It is difficult for someone to get over that kind of thing.
What Hayley said after her surgery is what makes her story truly remarkable, and it deserves to be called that without exaggeration. She didn’t ask if she would dance again despite having a swollen face, missing a large chunk of her skull, and recovering from one of the most severe neurological emergencies a person can survive. In an interview with PEOPLE magazine, Derek claims that the first genuine question she posed to her physicians was whether or not she would ever be able to conceive. Yes, the doctor replied. It turned out that was the thread she clung to throughout everything that came after.
Later, a second surgery was performed to replace the removed skull with an implant. The next step was rehabilitation. The couple had already been in a serious car accident in 2022. A miscarriage in 2024. Most people would have been totally crushed by the weight of all the hardships they had faced in a matter of years. There’s a feeling that the people watching Hayley and Derek on TV never really saw who they really were until things fell apart because of how they handled it—publicly, honestly, and without pretending the recovery was easy or tidy.
Derek acknowledged that following Hayley’s brain bleed, he nearly gave up dancing completely. Although it’s easy to overlook, that detail is important. This man found himself on the verge of leaving the performance and movement that have been the foundation of his entire identity. The fact that he didn’t, and Hayley went on to perform once more, feels more like two people refusing to let their worst experience define them than a story of triumph over adversity.
Hayley gave birth to their daughter Everley at home on December 29, 2024. She has referred to herself as “our rainbow after the storm”—a phrase that sounds like a greeting card until you realize what storm they’re talking about. When their documentary about the experience debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2026, Hayley told E! News that she felt “really strong” and “really healthy.” For the premiere, Everley had just boarded her first flight to New York City. Five months old and already going to movies. It’s the kind of minor detail that, in some way, sums up this family’s current situation.
Hayley has also been candid about the emotional complexity of being a new mother, saying on Instagram that it’s like “living in two places at once”—joy and heartache coexisting, true at the same time. That’s honest in a way that celebrity parents are rarely, and it probably speaks to her because she’s already discovered—the hard way—that fear and beauty don’t cancel each other out.
All of this is still subtly unresolved in the same way that traumatic medical experiences often leave lingering effects. However, witnessing her daughter grasp her own toes for the first time or seeing Hayley Erbert Hough perform on stage once more is not insignificant. In actuality, that is a significant amount.
FAQs
Q1: What illness did Derek Hough’s wife Hayley suffer from?
She had a cranial hematoma caused by a burst blood vessel in her brain.
Q2: What surgery did Hayley Erbert undergo after her brain bleed?
Surgeons performed an emergency craniectomy, removing 40 percent of her skull.
Q3: What was the first thing Hayley asked doctors after waking up from surgery?
She asked whether she could still have children in the future.
Q4: Did Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert have a baby after her recovery?
Yes, they welcomed their daughter, Everley, on December 29, 2024.
Q5: How is Hayley Hough’s health in 2026?
She describes herself as feeling really strong and really healthy.