Derek Hough Reveals the ‘Most Dad Thing’ He’s Done Since Welcoming Daughter Everley (Exclusive)

The ‘Dancing with the Stars’ judge tells PEOPLE how becoming a dad has changed everything as he prepares to hit the road with his family for his new holiday dance tour

NEED TO KNOW

• Derek Hough shares how fatherhood has influenced his life on and off the stage
• He and wife Hayley Erbert are adjusting to life on tour with their baby daughter Everley
• Hough says watching Erbert embrace motherhood has been one of his greatest joys

Derek Hough may be a four-time Emmy winner and one of the world’s most celebrated dancers, but these days, his favorite role is being a dad.

Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE, the Dancing with the Stars judge, 41, opened up about life with daughter Everley, whom he and his wife Hayley Erbert welcomed in December 2025.

When asked about the “most dad thing” he’s done lately, Hough admits his fatherly instincts have started showing up everywhere, not just at home.

“Honestly, the most dad thing I’ve done hasn’t really been with Everley necessarily,” he says with a laugh. “It’s been more with my dancers or something like that. I’m like, ‘Hey guys, make sure you go to bed early tonight’ and doing things like that.”

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His comments come as Hough spends much of the year on the road. He’s currently touring the country with his Symphony of Dance: Encore tour and will head back out this fall for Derek Hough Dance for the Holidays, a festive production that kicks off Nov. 4 in Phoenix before making stops in cities including Seattle, Austin, Salt Lake City and Nashville through Dec. 30.

While Hough jokes that he’s become the unofficial “dad” of his touring cast, nothing compares to watching Everley reach new milestones.

“She’s crawling now, and she’s moving fast. She’s just so alert, and her laugh is my favorite sound in the entire world,” he tells PEOPLE. “And oh my gosh, her smile is literally everything. It just changes my chemistry. It really does.”

The proud dad says he and Erbert, 31, are also learning to slow down and savor every stage of parenthood.

“I can’t wait to go to the park with her and do this. I can’t wait for this,” Hough recalls saying before Erbert offered a gentle reminder. “She goes, ‘Hey babe, let’s just change our language to we’re excited because it goes so fast. We can wait for those things.’ And I was like, ‘You know what, honey, you’re right.’”

This year’s tours have also marked a major family milestone: traveling with Everley for the first time.

While Hough says he once packed everything he needed in a single duffel bag, becoming a dad has completely changed the way he hits the road.

“For tour, I can probably take everything I need in a little duffel bag because I essentially wear the same thing every single day,” he jokes. “But with her, we literally have suitcases and bags and diaper bags and high chairs and bouncies and floor mats, an entire rug to put into the venue.”

He adds, “We went from a little duffel bag to bringing our entire home.”

Fortunately, their daughter has been the perfect travel companion.

“We’re really lucky,” Hough says. “We’re like, ‘We got a touring baby!’”

Watching Erbert embrace motherhood has been another unexpected joy.

“The biggest surprise for me really is just loving something so much,” Hough says. “I love seeing Hayley step into being a mother. She’s such a wonderful mom and such a natural.”

He continues, “I’m just in awe watching her maneuver and know things and just have instincts about things. I’m just enamored by that. I really am. It’s really impressive and just really beautiful.”

As for Hough, he says becoming a dad feels like a role he was born to play.

“For me, being a dad, I’m already corny. I’m already cheesy,” he says with a laugh. “So I’m a perfect dad when it comes to that.”

Tickets for Derek Hough Dance for the Holidays are on sale now.

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