Derek Hough, 37, and Hayley Erbert, 27, aren’t the only ones excited about their wedding day. A source close to Derek’s sister, Julianne Hough, 33, EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife that she cannot wait for Hayley to officially become her sister and that she wants to help them plan their special day in any way possible. “Julianne is beyond thrilled for Derek and Hayley. She feels so lucky to have seen their relationship grow over the years and she sees how perfectly Hayley compliments Derek,” the insider divulged. “Julianne has never seen Derek so happy with somebody before and she can’t wait to see them take this next step in their relationship.”
They continued, “Julianne is so happy she was able to be by Derek’s side throughout the planning phase and help in any way she can. She gave plenty of input and also plans on helping with the wedding planning in any way Derek or Hayley might need. … Julianne is so excited she’s finally going to be able to officially welcome Hayley into the family and call her a sister.” They added that Julianne “absolutely adores” Hayley.
As the insider mentioned, Julianne has seen Derek and Hayley’s love blossom since the very beginning. Hayley, Derek, and Julianne first met when the dancing brother and sister duo hired Hayley to join their MOVE Live on Tour dates in 2014. A year later, Hayley was cast as a member of Dancing With The Stars‘ dance troupe. Derek was a professional dancer on DWTS, and that season he ended up winning the coveted Mirrorball Trophy with partner Bindi Irwin. Derek and Hayley are thought to have struck up a romance at some point during the season, although they did not go public with their love until 2017.
And although Derek and Hayley are the ones in a romantic relationship, they haven’t forgotten about their roots. The happy couple joined Julianne in May 2020 for a performance of “Step In Time” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” for Volume II of The Disney Family Singalong, a singalong and dancing event meant to lift the spirits of Americans during the coronavirus pandemic as most people were isolating in their homes. During the first installment of the Disney Family Singalong, Derek, Hayley, and Julianne opened the show with a fun routine to “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast. What a sweet family affair!
Derek and Hayley announced their engagement on Instagram on June 2, although Derek got down on one knee on May 23. Following the engagement, HollywoodLife spoke to Derek’s engagement planner Troy Williams of Simply Troy Lifestyle + Events who EXCLUSIVELY revealed he and Derek did everything in their power to make sure the engagement was a surprise for Hayley. “It is very hard to pull one over on Hayley. One of his best buddies and I were playing things behind the scenes. We were working around the [home] cameras and Derek was deleting apps off her phone to make sure she didn’t know,” he recalled.
Considering Hayley and Derek’s engagement went so smoothly, there’s no doubt their wedding will be just as beautiful — especially with Julianne also there to help!