How Jennifer Lopez Played a Part in Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert's Wedding Planning

Jennifer Lopez really is a wedding planner.

In addition to playing one in her 2001 rom-com The Wedding Planner, the multi-hyphenate helped out her fellow World of Dance judge Derek Hough in his real-life nuptials with Hayley Erbert. As Derek shared at the Feb. 13 premiere of This Is Me... Now: A Love Story, a musical film based on J.Lo's relationship with Ben Affleck, he was in the middle of planning his own wedding when he got the call to play her groom.

"It was great," the Dancing With the Stars judge told E! News' Will Marfuggi in an exclusive interview, airing Feb. 14. "I kind of got a free wedding planner out of it, too."

In fact, Derek said he would show J.Lo his wedding ideas and seek her opinions. 

"'What do you think about this?'" he remembered asking the Grammy winner once. "She's like, 'Oh, that's nice!'"

In the end, Derek, 38, tied the knot with Hayley, 29, at a romantic ceremony in the redwood forests of Northern California in August 2023.

Though Hayley did not attend the This Is Me... Now: A Love Story premiere due to her recovery from cranial hematoma, Derek said his wife is "getting better and better every day" after undergoing skull surgery two months ago.

 

"Hopefully, we're past the worst," Derek shared. "She's incredible. She really is amazing."

This Is Me…Now: A Love Story hits Prime Video on Feb. 16.

To see Derek's full interview, tune into E! News tonight, Feb. 14, at 11 p.m. For now, keep reading to relive his love story with Hayley.

Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert meet back in 2014 when she performed on his and sister Julianne Hough's tour. A Dancing With the Stars producer is impressed with Hayley and she is called to interview to join the show's troupe, getting the job the following year, according to the Hutchington News. Also in 2015, she and Derek begin dating.

The two begin going out to public events, including at the 2016 premiere of the Tony Robbins Netflix documentary I Am Not Your Guru.

The duo get glammed up for a star-studded night out.

The dancers make their red carpet debut as a couple at the Television Academy's 2017 Choreography Peer Group Celebration at Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, Calif.

Hayley joins Derek as his date for the Creative Arts Emmys, where he was nominated for Outstanding Choreography for his work on Dancing With the Stars.

The two attend the star-studded Casamigos Halloween Party.

Hayley joins Derek as he hosts The Americana at Brand shopping mall's Christmas tree lighting event in Glendale, Calif.

The two attend the Hollywood premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The couple steps out at HBO's post-Emmys celebration.

They aren't pumping the brakes as they attend the premiere of Netflix's El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

The two pose for pics at the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Oscar viewing party.

Feeling festive, they dance on the special to ring in the Christmas season.

The two are all smiles at the premiere in Los Angeles.

The partners appear at the Creative Arts Emmys, where Derek wins Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming for his work on Dancing with the Stars.

The two dance as they arrive at the 2022 Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscars viewing party.

They look top tier on the red carpet.

Hayley flashes her engagement ring at the Critics Choice Real TV Awards.

The two get cozy at the launch of the Disney-Pixar film.

The couple honeymoon in Italy following their Aug. 26, 2023 wedding in California.

Derek was by Hayley's side as she underwent emergency skull surgery due to a burst blood vessel. "It was a time filled with uncertainty and fear, going from living our dreams onstage, to a nightmare in an instant," he wrote on Instagram over a week later. "Her recovery process has been nothing short of a miracle."

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