Derek Hough, 38, revealed his wife, Hayley Erbert, 29, experienced a health crisis that required emergency surgery on December 6. “At the end of last night’s tout performance in Washington, D.C., my wife Hayley became disoriented and was taken to the hospital,” the Dancing with the Stars judge wrote in a statement on his Instagram the day after the incident. “She was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel and required an emergency craniectomy. She is in stable condition.”
Derek added, “I want to thank the first responders and medical personnel who have cared for and continue to care for her. I ask for your prayers and positivity during this time.” Hayley fell ill amidst the couple’s Symphony of Dance tour that started in September. Their next show is slated for December 7 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
A cranial hematoma is usually caused by a blood vessel that bursts in the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. It may also be caused by trauma such as a car accident or fall. The blood may collect in the brain tissue or underneath the skull, pressing on the brain. Symptoms include headaches, vomiting, drowsiness, dizziness, unequal pupils size, slurred speech, and paralysis on the opposite side of the body from the head injury.
Derek and Hayley are both very accomplished dancers who met when Hayley joined Derek and his sister Julianne Hough’s MOVE Live Tour in 2014. Their paths then crossed again when Hayley was hired as a member of the DWTS season 21 troupe, which ended up being one of the many winning seasons for Derek, who was partnered with Bindi Irwin. The couple began dating at some point after that but did not go public with their relationship until 2017.
The couple got engaged after 7 years of dating in June 2022. “It’s only the beginning…the beginning of forever,” Derek captioned a beautiful photo of the proposal. They tied the knot on August 26 in Monterey County, California in front of 106 guests, according to PEOPLE. Famous names on the guest list included Jenna Johnson, Shawn Johnson, Nina Dobrev, Shaun White, Alfonso Ribeiro, and more.
“We’re in a redwood forest, but we got married right in front of this mother tree that’s surrounded by all these smaller trees,” Hayley told PEOPLE about the romantic nuptials. “They drop all the seeds, and it plants kind of like an army of children to protect the mother. The symbolism of it was beautiful. We’re here, planting our seeds to grow our family,” she added.