Celebrity Babies
‘DWTS’ Judge Derek Hough & Wife Hayley Reveal Past Miscarriage While Honoring ‘Rainbow Baby’
Derek Hough and his wife, Hayley Erbert, are currently expecting their first child, but the journey to get here didn’t come without some heartbreak.
With October being Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, Hough and Erbert decided to open up about what they went through before conceiving their baby. In a joint Instagram post on Wednesday, October 15, they revealed that Erbert previously suffered a miscarriage.
“This video is a tribute to a part of our story,” the text at the beginning of the video read. “A chapter of loss, love, celebration, heartbreak, and everything between. Although we are so excited to be welcoming our rainbow baby soon, we honor the baby that never made it earthside.”
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The video then played footage from Erbert’s first pregnancy, including the clip where she told her husband the news for the first time by putting “big sister” and “big brother” bandanas around their dog’s necks. Other scenes featured the excited couple sharing the news with their loved ones by showing them their sonogram photos.
The timing of the pregnancy was also confirmed, as there was a clip of Hough and Erbert’s October 2024 Dancing With the Stars dedication dance included. At the end of the emotional number, which honored Erbert’s return to dance following a 2023 brain bleed and subsequent surgery, Hough placed his head on his wife’s stomach and held her close, nearly in tears. At the time, fans didn’t know that this was honoring the baby she was carrying.
Unfortunately, it seems like the miscarriage took place shortly after this, as the next scene showed Hough and Erbert holding each other and crying.
Hough and Erbert captioned their video, “There are some things in life that change you forever. For us, this is one of those things. A chapter of love, loss, heartbreak, and everything in between. As we are now in October, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, we share this part of our story to honor our baby that never made it earthside. One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, a silent heartbreak so many families know, and one we unfortunately had to experience. As we share this, know that there’s a rainbow not far behind.”
The couple, who tied the knot in 2023, announced their pregnancy in July. “We can’t believe the biggest thing to happen to us could be so small ♥️,” they captioned a joint video of the announcement.
While they have yet to reveal the sex of the baby, fans think that Hough may have accidentally let it slip during this week’s episode of Dancing With the Stars. While addressing contestant Jordan Chiles, who danced with her father for 2025’s Dedication Night, Hough said, “Watching you two dance really made me excited to have that own, my own moment with my…” He then trailed off before adding, “My own child.”
Viewers are convinced that Hough was going to say “my daughter” before catching himself and changing the phrase to “my own child.”
Dancing With the Stars, Season 34, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC
For a more extended celebration of two decades of Dancing With the Stars, from exclusive interviews to retrospectives and must-see photos, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Dancing With the Stars 20th Anniversary special issue, available for purchase online at DWTS.TVGM2025.com and on newsstands now.
