In December 2023, professional dancer Hayley Erbert was rushed to the hospital after suffering a near-fatal brain bleed.
Hayley Erbert and her husband, Derek Hough, were in Washington D.C. for their Symphony of Dance Tour when Erbert suddenly became disoriented with seizure-like symptoms just before she was about to walk out on stage. She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with a cranial hematoma. From there, Erbert had to undergo emergency brain surgery.
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After a long road to recovery, Erbert made her return to the dance floor on Tuesday night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars.
Erbert, who is a former dance troupe member of Dancing with the Stars for six seasons, made her return to the ballroom floor on last night’s (October 15) episode of the competition. Her comeback was even more special as she performed an emotional routine with her husband, Derek Hough, who now serves as a judge on the show.
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Before their performance, Derek Hough shared the story of the day Hayley was rushed to the hospital in a clip that aired just before they took the stage.
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“It just all came to a screeching halt in the most devastating way,” Hough remembered. “I was on stage, and she’s supposed to come out. The stage manager walked out and just said, ‘Hey, she’s not coming on stage.’ She was on the side of the stage having full seizures and, essentially, dying. It’s really hard to even put into words other than just pure fear.”
“We rush her to the hospital, she’s still in her costume, and the doctor came to me and he said that, ‘She has a severe brain bleed, so we have to operate right now,'” he continued. “He said that she might not make it and that even if she does make it, she won’t be the same person.”
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When it was time for their performance, Erbert showed she had overcome the odds of her health scare. The couple delivered a choreographed routine to Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” leaving no dry eye in the room.
Watch Hayley Erbert’s emotional return to Dancing With The Stars below.