Derek Hough, Hayley Erbert reflect on her tear-filled return to ‘Dancing With the Stars’ nearly 1 year after emergency brain surgery

Hayley Erbert and her beloved husband, Derek Hough, were all smiles Tuesday night while reflecting on her triumphant return to “Dancing With the Stars.”

Nearly one year after undergoing emergency craniectomy, the former troupe dancer and her real-life partner performed an emotional routine that left the entire ballroom in tears during Dedication Night.

“I’m doing really good, especially after tonight,” Erbert exclusively told Page Six after the show. “I’m just kind of on cloud nine right now. It was a beautiful experience to be back in the ballroom.”

Hough echoed those sentiments, telling us, “There’s so much gratitude, so much to be thankful for.”

“To be here in this room, after a difficult and triumphant year … it’s amazing,” he added. “Looking through that [hospital] footage, in that moment, we never thought in a million years we’d be here.”

Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert exclusively spoke to Page Six in the “Dancing With the Stars” ballroom Tuesday night. Page Six The two spoke about Erbert’s triumphant return to the show nearly one year after undergoing emergency brain surgery. Page Six

Hough and Erbert tied the knot last August, just a few months before her near-fatal health scare.

They danced a tear-filled routine about the experience Tuesday night, marking the first time Erbert has performed in the “Dancing With the Stars” ballroom since the incident.

The couple told Page Six they considered “a lot” of other songs before finally landing on the acoustic version of “Beautiful Things” — a track from Benson Boone’s 2024 debut album, “Fireworks & Rollerblades” — which they felt perfectly captured the essence of what they went through together.

“I’m just kind of on cloud nine right now,” Erbert shared. “It was a beautiful experience to be back in the ballroom.” Disney Hough added, “There’s so much gratitude, so much to be thankful for.” Disney

“There’s always so many songs when choosing the perfect one,” Erbert explained. “But I remember him sending me [that] one. I listened to it in the car by myself and I just instantly started crying. I was like, ‘This is it. This is the one.’”

Hough chimed in, telling us, “That song itself, the original version, I just listened to the melody so much. It’s so powerful, it was great. But then when I heard the stripped down version, I was like, ‘Oh wait, I’m actually hearing the lyrics.’”

The “Dancing With the Stars” judge added, “For me, it gave me a different meaning. The idea of, ‘Please don’t go,’ it was how I felt — how I felt in the moment.”

The duo performed a tear-filled routine to an acoustic version of “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone. Disney “The idea of, ‘Please don’t go,’ it was how I felt,” Hough said, of how they landed on what song to perform to on Tuesday. Disney

Erbert told Page Six that after the dance wrapped, and the cameras were off, she also got quite emotional backstage as she processed her comeback.

“I was a mess the whole time, just bawling my eyes out, but only because it’s so special to be back,” the “So You Think You Can Dance” alum shared.

“There was a time where I never knew if I’d be able to even dance again. So to be back here, doing what I love, with the person that I love, surrounded by so many people that have supported us throughout this entire journey, it was really so special.”

The performance marked the first time Erbert has danced in the ballroom since her near-fatal health scare. Instagram/@hayley.erbert The former troupe dancer was rushed to the hospital in December 2023 while she and Hough were on tour.

Last December, Erbert was rushed to the hospital after collapsing backstage, suffering multiple seizures and “essentially dying” while she and Hough were performing the final leg of their “Symphony of Dance” tour. Doctors told the duo it was a “miracle” that Erbert was alive and survived the traumatic experience.

Hough teased that Tuesday night’s performance was “just sort of the beginning” of the two getting the chance to share Erbert’s story — from what their family went through during that tumultuous time to coming out of it stronger than ever.

“There’s so much more that people don’t know [about] the struggles, the journey she’s been on,” he shared. “And we were fortunate enough to capture that.”

“There was a time where I never knew if I’d be able to even dance again,” Erbert told Page Six. Instagram Hough told us the two have been working on a documentary about the experience. derekhough/Instagram

The six-time mirrorball champion confirmed they’ve been working on a documentary with a “good friend” of Hough’s who is an Emmy-winning filmmaker. An official release date has yet to be announced.

“It was kind of an accident, honestly,” Hough told us, noting that his pal “filmed fly-on-the-wall” style, following them on tour, in rehearsals, doctor’s appointments and more.

“He was there for the low times, and the high times, so it was this really beautiful, natural, organic, experience. And then by the end of it, it was like, ‘Wait, this is a really beautiful story.’ It’s a really honest story and it’s a vulnerable story that’s incredible. Tonight was sort of a glimpse into [it].”

The couple is thrilled that Erbert is alive to tell her story, as doctors told her it was a “miracle” she survived. Disney The incident occurred just a few months after the couple said “I do” in August 2023. HAYLEY ERBERT/INSTAGRAM

Per Deadline, the Voyeur Verite Presents documentary will be directed by Jason Bergh (“The Greatest Love Story Never Told”) and produced by Bergh and Stephan Bielecki.

Hough is executive producing the project alongside Jeff Goldenberg and Courtney Carter, with Matt Bass serving as director of photography.

“Dancing With the Stars” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.