Fun Facts About Derek Hough's Girlfriend, Hayley Erbert
And are they ever going to get married?
Quinn Jeffrey / Shutterstock Who is Derek Hough's girlfriend, Hayley Erbert?
Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert have a perfectly adorable relationship. The couple has been together for years, after meeting on Dancing with the Stars. Not only do they make their dancing look effortless, they somehow make their relationship look effortless as well.
Hough — who has won DWTS multiple times, was a judge on World of Dance, and is now a judge on Dancing with the Stars, replacing Len Goodman — is arguably one of the most famous dancers in America. He's one of the many new roles on DWTS as some of the long-standing hosts and judges have left the show.
He and his sister Julianne have toured with their live dance performances for years, and now they even teamed up, along with Erbert, for a television special titled "The Disney Family Sing-Along," an at-home singalong event for everyone quarantined due to coronavirus.
Many fans of Hough have been wondering if he will ever make it official with his long-term girlfriend, and have been waiting for the dancer to put a ring on Erbert's finger.
Who is Hayley Erbert?
Hayley, 25, first made waves as a dancer on season 10 of So You Think You Can Dance. The contemporary style dancer from Kansas finished in the bottom six and went home early in the season, but her career didn't end there.
She toured with Hough and his sister Julianne's show Move Live in 2014 before landing a gig in the dance troupe for Dancing with the Stars. She was a mentor for Dancing with the Stars: Juniors in 2018, as well as continuing to perform on DWTS.
How did Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert meet?
The couple hasn't explained exactly how they met, but Erbert did post an Instagram photo of the two of them dancing together at DWTS in 2015. Hough has been one of the featured dancers on the show since 2007 and has won a record six times.
Hough's partners have included Brooke Burke, Jennie Garth, Ricki Lake, Maria Menounos, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Grey, Kellie Pickler, Amber Riley, Amy Purdy, and Bindi Irwin, according to his website. He left the show to pursue other projects and became a judge on World of Dance in 2017.
As for their off-stage relationship, Erbert and Hough are like an Instagram story that has come to life. They always look happy and excited to be together, and their actual social media feed is a constant stream of adorable moments, from Hough singing to Erbert while he cooks to both of them snuggling their little orange kitten.
Are Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert married?
In a 2018 interview, just before he headed out for his solo dance tour, he revealed his plans for the tour and what his life offstage looks like. He gushed about Erbert and how she keeps him grounded and supports his dreams.
When asked if he was thinking of asking her to marry him, he took a tongue in cheek attitude to the question.
"You know, it's funny. Nobody ever asks me this," Hough joked. "Do I feel pressured getting married? No, you know what, I don't, actually. I'm building a house right now. I feel like I've been building it for 25 years now. It's taken a long time, so for me, I'm looking at things in stages, and for me, that's going to be the next stage."
And people just won't let up in asking about marriage.
After his sister Julianne's wedding to Brooks Laich in 2018, Hough was once again asked about when he would be having his own ceremony with Erbert.
"It's not something we really talk about so much right now," he explained. But he did leave the door open to planning for marriage and family down the line. "I don't want to be an old grandpa when I start having kids... After that wedding, I'm like, ‘Who knows?' You feel the love."
Seriously, everyone asks him if he wants to marry Erbert.
Ryan Seacrest asked about marriage when Hough went on his radio show in 2018 — and this could have been seriously awkward since Seacrest and Hough's sister were together for years and never got married.
But Hough still wouldn't commit to saying he and Erbert ever talk about marriage.
"Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes. But you know what’s funny? There are so many people getting engaged and married in my circle [right now], and I’m just letting them enjoy that, so my time will come," he said. "We’ll see when it happens."
Even J-Lo wants Derek Hough to get married.
Even his World of Dance co-star Jennifer Lopez is hoping he'll marry Erbert. In a video, Hough said that she was putting the pressure on him on set.
He recounted an episode where he had dropped a dad joke and J-Lo told him she’d thought he’d be a good dad. "And then she said, 'So, why aren’t you [a dad]? And why aren’t you married?' I’m like, 'Oh god!'" he said.
JLo didn't drop the subject, adding, "Well, do you want to get married?" Hough said that he thinks he does, but JLo didn't think that was a straight enough answer. "Oh, you think you do? You’re one of those?" Hough explained, "I was like, 'Well, hold on! Let me finish...'"
Is Derek Hough proposing to Hayley Erbert?
After his performance at the 2019 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in New York City, Hough was once again asked if there was any chance that an engagement was in the near future, and he didn't say no in his answer.
“Who knows. You never know. It’s the end of a decade, sorry, it’s the beginning of a new decade!” Hough said. “2020 vision, we’ll see.”
Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert have been making the most of quarantine.
Even with the pandemic going on, Hough and Erbert have still found a way to continue performing. They've recently been involved in a nationwide singalong event where celebs and their families perform popular Disney songs from their own homes.
For the Disney Family Sing-Along, the couple performed the iconic "Be Our Guest" song from Beauty and the Beast. Hough and Erbert even wore outfits inspired by the movie.
"My girlfriend has always wanted to be Belle, there's a great picture of her when she was a little girl in a yellow dress holding all of her pets, so I kind of wanted to create something fun around that and utilize our kitchen because of 'Be Our Guest,' the theme of it, and we definitely made a mess," Hough said. "We were rearranging furniture and throwing popcorn around. It's actually been a really great bonding experience for my girlfriend and I. We've been cooking and dancing around the house a lot."
The couple also had Julianne join in with them, who was also quarantined. Hough said, “We did the lighting ourselves, we did the cameras, we did the editing, just everything.” The couple also performed to "Step In Time" from Mary Poppins.
About quarantine, Hough revealed, “This time has just made me feel very creative and very thankful to be able to have that space. Motion equals emotion. The way you move directly affects the way you feel. I say that so often because I believe it so much. Right now when we can feel cooped up and contained, it’s important to stay active and stay moving in some fashion. I think that’s good for our physical health, but also our mental health.”
Hough has been a popular judge on World of Dance, which has aired for 4 seasons, and is sure to bring some fresh perspective as the newest judge on Dancing with the Stars.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in December 2019 and was updated with the latest information.