Derek Hough and Wife Hayley Erbert Hough Return to Stage Where She Nearly Died One Year Later

Derek Hough's wife Hayley Erbert Hough made an inspirational comeback on the stage where she nearly lost her life.

The Dancing With the Stars troupe member has been on her husband's Dance for the Holidays Tour for more than a month and on Nov. 24, she and the series judge returned to perform at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., where she suffered a cranial hematoma during a 2023 performance that prompted her to undergo emergency skull surgery.

"Obviously, tonight, it's a very, very special night, to be back here on this stage, one year later," Derek said, standing beside Hayley and several more dancers, as seen in a video shared on the couple's Instagram pages Dec. 6. "To change the story of this room, of this stage, to something beautiful."

Hayley, 30, had been performing with Derek, 39, one of his Symphony of Dance tour shows at the same venue on Dec. 6, 2023 when she became disoriented. She was rushed to a hospital and diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel.

She underwent an emergency craniectomy, in which part of her skull was removed to ease pressure on her brain, and later had an implant installed in another operation.

At the Nov. 24 performance, Derek invited to the stage the doctor who performed the surgeries, Washington, D.C.-based Dr. Jeffrey Mai, who then walked up and shared a hug with Hayley.

"This was the man that was there at 3 in the morning that saved Hayley's life," Derek said. "He was there. He gave us comfort. He gave us love. And I just cannot be more thankful to have you here, so much. I mean, ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Dr. Mai, please."

In the video's caption, Derek and Hayley reflected further on her medical emergency.

"It’s been exactly one year since Hayley almost lost her life," they wrote. "We returned to the very same stage, the same room where we once felt so much fear and uncertainty. A place where I stood frozen, terrified, praying for a miracle. But tonight, we changed the story of that room."

They continued, "We transformed it, from fear to beauty, from uncertainty to faith, and from despair to triumph. And having Dr. Mai, the man who saved her life, standing on that stage with us made it all the more powerful. We got to share a moment on stage thanking him for the gift of more time, more memories, and more love."

Hayley had made her official dance return in April, joining Derek onstage in Melbourne, Fla. as part of Symphony of Dance tour, part of which was postponed following her medical emergency. In October, she returned to Dancing with the Stars and gave an emotional performance with her husband, dancing to “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone.

"I’m so grateful to Hayley," Derek wrote in the post. "She has blown me away with her resilience, strength courage and pure elegance in how she has moved through this experience. I am in awe everyday."

The pair added, "One year later, standing on that same stage, we know this: life is fragile, love is everything, and we are stronger than ever."

Look back at Derek and Hayley's romance...