Derek Hough is opening up like by no means earlier than about how “Dancing With the Stars” helped him survive one of the crucial tough chapters of his life. The Emmy-winning dancer and decide, who’s been a part of the hit ABC present for 20 years, says the ballroom turned greater than a office; it turned his lifeline. After a yr stuffed with emotional highs and devastating lows, together with his spouse Hayley Erbert’s near-fatal well being disaster and a heartbreaking miscarriage, Derek says “DWTS” gave him the main target, self-discipline, and function he wanted to maintain shifting ahead.

In a brand new interview with Us Weekly, Hough mirrored on the affect “Dancing With the Stars” has had on his private progress and psychological well being. Combating again tears, he revealed that the present helped him keep grounded by way of tragedy.

“This present actually has saved my life,” Derek mentioned. “With out it, I genuinely don’t know the place I might be. It’s a lot greater than rhinestones and glitter and lights.”

The emotional confession comes lower than a yr after his spouse, Hayley Erbert, underwent an emergency craniectomy in December 2023 following a cranial hematoma. She later acquired a cranium implant and made a full restoration.

Then, in October 2025, the couple, who are actually anticipating their first baby collectively, revealed they’d suffered a miscarriage earlier within the yr.

Hough advised the outlet that by way of all of it, his work on “DWTS” gave him one thing to carry onto. “I received’t go into tremendous element about this. Ultimately, I’ll go deeper,” he mentioned. “However I’ll say this present actually has saved my life. [I don’t know] what would occur if I didn’t have this factor that saved me targeted and on observe and saved difficult me to be higher.”

Reflecting on his 20-year journey with “Dancing With the Stars,” Derek shared that the present has been each his classroom and his remedy.

“I take into consideration that 22-year-old child who didn’t know what he was doing,” he advised Us Weekly. “I’ve had heartbreaks and the very best moments of my life in that ballroom. I’ve battled with self-doubt and had fights in that room. A lot has occurred on this one area. I’ve actually grown up on this present. To try this on TV in entrance of thousands and thousands of individuals, it’s extraordinary. And right here we’re 20 years later, and it’s greater than ever.”

He additionally described how the present’s function shifted for him over time, from competitors to compassion.

“We went from being rivals, ‘I wish to win, I wish to be the very best,’ [to where] it turned, ‘This isn’t about me. That is about instructing any individual. That is about their journey. How can I assist them?’” he mentioned. “It was a wild transformation to get out of a egocentric mentality to ‘I’m right here to provide.’”

Hough admitted that when he first joined the collection, he was terrified. “It was extraordinarily daunting and terrifying,” he mentioned. “You needed to face any individual you’re a fan of and act like you understand what you’re speaking about. And we didn’t have lots of assets. All of the strain was on us.”

That strain, he says, turned a defining drive in his life. And now, 20 seasons later, Derek Hough has turn out to be one among “Dancing With the Stars”’ most beloved and enduring figures, not only for his choreography, however for his resilience.