By Michaela Gordoni
DANCING WITH THE STARS celeb Derek Hough didn’t think he’d wait this long to have kids, but he loves every minute of fatherhood.
“I grew up in Utah where you get married at 19, you have kids at 20, 21,” he told E! News. “So it’s crazy that I’m 40 years old and I’m just now entering into this chapter.”
Hough and his wife, Hayley Erbert, welcomed daughter Everley Capri on Dec. 29, 2025.
“I’ve had such a full and rich life,” the dancer continued. “I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve done so much in my life already, and now I get to start over.’ It’s all brand new.”
He says his new life as a dad to a little girl is meaningful, fulfilling and exciting. His wife is a great mom.
Related: Derek Hough Uses Christian Music to Prepare for Upcoming Baby
“I tell her every day, ‘You’re amazing. You were meant for this. You’re such a great mom,’” he shared with E!.
“I’m even more in love with her. I’m just so in awe of her. It’s amazing,” he said.
“She has been really remarkable, powerful strong and tender,” Hough told PEOPLE.
He’s excited to see what personality his daughter develops.
“I really hope she has her mother’s temperament as far as this very even keel, very chill [demeanor],” he admitted. “Me, I’ll be bouncing off the walls and doing back flips. So, we’ll see — that might come out later.”
Before the Hough’s daughter, Everley, was born, they experienced a painful miscarriage. Everley is their rainbow baby.
“Rainbows have been part of Everley’s journey from the start, one showed up at her baby shower, another on Christmas Day around when she was due,” Hough wrote alongside a video of him holding Everly under a rainbow, while his original song played in the background. “Two days after Everley was born I took her outside for some fresh air. When I came back, Hayley was in tears.”
“I asked if she was okay, and she said ‘I just saw the most beautiful thing.’ She’d filmed a rainbow that looked like it was literally rising right out of Everley. Birds flew by like something out of a movie.”
It was a truly magical moment.
“Those first days were full of so much raw emotion and a love we’ve never felt before,” he said. “She really is our beautiful Rainbow 🌈 I wrote this song for my wife and now also for my beautiful Everley ♥️like the words I sing in the song ‘This heart is your home.’”
The Houghs feel blessed to be parents, and little Everly is certainly in good hands.
Read Next: Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert Dance Into Parenthood: First Baby on the Way!
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