Hayley Erbert has described the exciting and painful experience she’s had as a mother, months after welcoming her first child with her husband, Derek Hough.
The former Dancing with the Stars pro, 31, shared three adorable photos Friday on Instagram of herself and her daughter, Everley, lying on a blanket outside. Erbert gave a sweet shoutout to her child in the caption, before opening up about her journey becoming a parent.
“My love. My girl. My world,” she wrote. “Motherhood is even more complex and contradicting than I could have ever imagined. It feels like living in two places at once. Where joy and heartache can both be true, all of the time. My heart is constantly bursting open, while also breaking into a million pieces.”
“I find myself celebrating every little bit of your growth, while quietly grieving the version of you that existed just moments before. So excited for all the ‘firsts’ and the life ahead of you/us, yet wishing I could freeze time and never have any ‘lasts,’” she continued. “It’s the most beautiful contradiction. This pull between holding on and letting go, between wanting time to slow down and knowing it never will.”
She added that she’s welcoming the “dichotomy of motherhood” she’s experiencing with “open arms,” as she continues to raise her daughter, who was born in December, with Hough.
“Soaking in every little detail, every version of you, every fleeting moment we have together,” she concluded. “I love being your mom. I love you beyond, Everley. I have truly never felt a love like this.”
Hough praised his wife and daughter in the comments of the Instagram post, writing: “My girls,” alongside a red heart and crying emoji.
Everley’s arrival came two years after Erbert underwent emergency brain surgery due to a burst blood vessel while on the DWTS tour in December 2023, four months after the couple got married. After the craniectomy, Erbert had a skull implant and returned to the stage just four months later.
Following his wife’s health scare, the DWTS judge praised her strength throughout recovery on Instagram, writing: “It was a time filled with uncertainty and fear, going from living our dreams onstage, to a nightmare in an instant. Her recovery process has been nothing short of a miracle.”
Erbert reflected on her health further in an Instagram post in December, writing: “Two years ago today, I was given a second chance at life through life-saving brain surgery. In these two years, I’ve gone through every human emotion imaginable, the kind that cracks you open and the kind that puts you back together.
“I’ve reclaimed parts of myself I thought I’d never find again, rediscovered who I am, and moved through seasons of loss, triumph, joy, endless fear, grief, healing, and quiet hope. It was a whirlwind to say the least.. But I’m truly grateful for it all, and so incredibly proud of myself and my body for everything it has endured.”
Hough and Erbert announced that they were expecting their first child on social media in July 2025. Alongside a video of the pair revealing their sonogram, they wrote, “We can’t believe the biggest thing to happen to us could be so small.”
