Dancing With the Stars has come a long way since siblings Julianne Hough and Derek Hough joined the feel-good reality competition back in 2007 (her in the spring, him in the fall). “In the beginning, it was like the Wild Wild West,” recalls Derek. “We’re like, maybe we’ll do a bench. Maybe we’ll have a bike on stage. Maybe try a stool. No joke, having a stool [on stage] was a big deal. Now it’s like, ‘Hey, can I have an Aztec ruin come from the ceiling [with a] water feature coming down [so it’s] raining on set?’”
Not surprisingly, the two can’t help but get emotional when they talk about the show’s 20-year milestone. (Fans may get emotional, too, at what’s in store when the special birthday episode — including the return of former host Tom Bergeron as a guest judge — airs November 11 at 8 p.m. on ABC and Disney+; streaming next day on Hulu.)
For Derek and Julianne, they’ve spent much of their adult lives in the DWTS ballroom. Julianne, 37, danced as a pro for five seasons, winning two Mirrorball Trophies, then returned for another five seasons as a judge before becoming the cohost alongside Alfonso Ribeiro in 2023. Derek, 40, spent 17 seasons as a pro, taking home a record six trophies, and turned judge in 2020. “I feel humbled that I’ve been able to be a part of a show that raised me,” says Julianne. “It’s always been my safe place to call home.”
Derek credits DWTS with helping him through the hardest times of his life. In December 2023, his wife, fellow pro dancer Hayley Erbert, 31, underwent an emergency craniectomy for a cranial hematoma and later received a skull implant. In mid-October, the pair — who are expecting their first child together — revealed they had previously suffered a miscarriage. “This show,” says Derek through tears, “literally has saved my life. Without it, I genuinely don’t know where I would be. It’s so much more than rhinestones and glitter and lights.”
The siblings sat down with Us to talk about their unbreakable bond, the family they’ve found on the show and the everlasting appeal of Dancing With the Stars.
It’s been two decades since DWTS debuted! What emotions come up for you when you think about that?
JH I remember watching when I was still living in Utah [after] I’d made the decision to come out to L.A. with $2,000. [Dancing] was this craft that Derek and I had been working [on] our whole lives, so to see it on national television was amazing. I’m so proud to be part of [this] show. It’s always been that consistent through line in my life.
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DH I think about that 22-year-old kid who didn’t know what he was doing. I’ve had heartbreaks and the best moments of my life in that ballroom. I’ve battled with self-doubt and had fights in that room. So much has happened in this one space. I’ve literally grown up on this show. To do that on TV in front of millions of people, it’s extraordinary. And here we are 20 years later, and it’s bigger than ever.
And what has it been like being on this ride together, pretty much from the beginning?
DH When we started, they knew what to do with Julianne. They were like, “She’s a star.” But with me, they’re like, “What do we do with this boy… dancer… guy?”
JH I was very specific that I wanted to act and sing.
DH I actually want to give Jules her flowers. When she came on the show, she changed the trajectory of DWTS forever. She became the model of what we see now — that multifaceted dancer. She came in and disrupted the whole scene.
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JH I’m Derek’s biggest fan. He just literally made me want to fall on the floor with all the compliments. He’s always the first person to recognize and see me for who I am. He always has my back, and I know I can trust that my brother is always there because he’s shown up that way.
DH And I’ll be honest [with her], like, “Yo, that was wack,” and vice versa.
JH To watch my brother become one of the most celebrated choreographers on DWTS
— this is what makes me cry. Derek doesn’t think small, so to witness his journey has made me so proud.
Having this shared experience — a lot of siblings don’t get to do that together. Has there ever been any sibling rivalry between you?
DH When she went [on the show], I was like, “Oh, OK, now I have to go on.” And then she won that season.
JH He would smoke me in the Latin competitive dance world we [were in] as kids. But I was like, “Oh, you’re coming to my turf now.”
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DH We joke around. She’ll say, “I won the show twice,” and I’ll be like, “I won six times,” and she goes, “Yeah, but I was only on the show for five seasons.” She won two out of five and I won six out of 17, so her ratio is better.
How do you think the show has evolved over the years?
DH [Early on], we were still figuring things out. We were like, “Should we have confetti?” Now there’s confetti in every performance. The production element has evolved [like] crazy.
Was it scary in the beginning, venturing into uncharted territory?
DH It was extremely daunting and terrifying. You had to face somebody you’re a fan of and act like you know what you’re talking about. And we didn’t have a lot of the resources as far as looking things up and trying to find ideas. All the pressure was on us.
How did you handle having so much riding on your shoulders?
DH We went from being competitors — “I want to win, I want to be the best” — [to where] it became, “This isn’t about me. This is about teaching somebody. This is about their journey. How can I help them?” It was a wild transformation to get out of a selfish mentality to “I’m here to give.”
In what ways has DWTS affected your relationship as brother and sister?
DH A big transformation for me was thinking about how to give and how to serve, and that also transferred into our sibling relationship. At the end of the day, this can happen, [or that] can happen. But as long as you’re there for them and you want them to shine and you want to raise people up, that’s when you’re at your best self.
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What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced on the show?
DH It can reveal the ugliest parts of yourself and trigger a lot of fears and insecurities. The ugly parts come out, and you’re like, “I have a lot of self-doubt, and people think I have all this confidence, but I don’t and I feel like a fraud.” [You’re] revealing parts of yourself in front of millions of people.
How did you handle the pressure to top yourself season after season or even week after week?
DH Right before my season with Shawn Johnson [in 2012], I was burnt out. I didn’t know if I had anything left. My mom was in the hospital, and when I was visiting her, the curtain whipped back, and a lady there goes, “The show brings me so much joy, and it makes me so happy.” That was the moment where I switched from trying to prove myself and saying, “Look what I can do” to “How can I create great things and bring some fun and joy?”
DWTS always takes the star participants on a transformational journey. What’s the biggest transformation that has happened in your own lives throughout the seasons?
JH Celebrities have a massive transformation in three months. Every one of those is a transformation for the pros, too, because life is not done alone. It’s about relationships. Every relationship you have is going to be a mirror.
DH I won’t go into super detail about this — eventually I will go deeper… this is like a therapy session — but I will say this show literally has saved my life. [I don’t know] what would happen if I didn’t have this thing that kept me focused and on track and kept challenging me to be better.
At this point in your relationship, would you describe your bond as unbreakable?
JH Yes, I would. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom or question if it’s breakable in order for you to know that it’s not. Derek and I have gone through a lot of stuff — some together, some personally and some outside environment stuff that would affect us and how we respond or react. No matter how hard it is to communicate, we are that constant for each other. I’m not going anywhere, and he’s not going anywhere. You [can] lean in and surrender to the fact that you’re going to go in waves and cycles. You can’t always choose your family, but at the end of the day, we’re family. In my younger years, I didn’t [appreciate] the word “family” with as much sacredness that I do now.
Would your relationship be different if you hadn’t done the show?
JH It’s the reason Derek and I were able to create a live dance show — people followed us on the TV show and wanted to see what else we could do. The only reason we have the life we have is because of the show. I don’t even want to think about what it would have looked like if it never existed.
DH This is a part of our life story. Our journey was unique. We moved away from home at a very early age; she was 10, and I was 13 [when their parents sent them from Utah to London’s Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts]. Then, to be on a show at the same time was really extraordinary. I’m proud we’ve been supportive siblings in an industry that can absolutely tear you apart. Part of how we’re still here is having that support.
JH When I was younger, I was like, “Oh, it’s a platform for me to be able to do other things.” And I want to completely take all of that back, because it has been the reason I have been able to do other things.
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Julianne, you’ve danced, judged and hosted. Do you have a favorite role?
JH In this stage of my life, I find more joy watching other people shine. [Doing] “Looking for a Man in Finance” [last season] and f–king going balls to the wall was awesome, so there’s also this little sassy pride I have that’s like, “I was an OG, and I still got it.” But as a host, I get to hang with my besties and support [everyone].
DH You better get your shoes back on, because if I choreo the 20th anniversary, you’re dancing…
JH That’s why I was working out today!
The cast — hosts, judges, pros, celebs — really do seem like one big happy family. Is that real?
JH We all take care of each other. [We’re in a] new generation [with] social media and [that] noise and commentary; a lot of it is super-positive, and a lot of it is super-negative. But we [don’t] pit ourselves against each other, and we have each other’s backs. Our bubble is so bright and so pure. So everybody out there, keep it coming, because you can’t pop our bubble.
Why do you think the show resonates so much with fans?
DH You’re watching people be vulnerable, and vulnerability creates connection. [When] you feel connected to somebody, you’re like, “OK, I’m invested in this.” The formula allows people to feel a part of it… There was never a show like this, and there will never be a show like this ever again. When it first came on, people were like, “What? That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard!” One of the main bosses says, “I thought it was the dumbest show idea ever. I am eating my words. It’s the best thing that ever happened to us.”
JH As cheesy as it sounds, you can always rely on DWTS. It will offer whatever you need. It will offer heart and storytelling. People come up to us saying, “My grandma and I used to watch it together and she passed away, but now I watch and think of her every time.” [Tears up.] Wow, this really makes me cry. The show isn’t about being the best every single week, it’s about the journey and the growth. It’s a reflection of life.
