Derek Hough Reveals How Jennifer Lopez Inspired Him to Propose to Hayley Erbert (Exclusive)

Derek Hough knew it was time to propose to Hayley Erbert when he looked at another celeb's relationship history. ET's Denny Directo spoke with the 37-year-old dancer at Las Vegas' Venetian Resort, the site of his No Limit residency, and Hough revealed how Jennifer Lopez inspired him to pop the question to his girlfriend of seven years.

"I remember seeing her and I was like, 'Yo, if she can get two [engagements] within the time that I've been with [Erbert] I better step up my game,'" Hough told ET of running into Lopez, who got engaged to Alex Rodriguez in 2019, and to Ben Affleck earlier this year. 

Another indication that it was time to get engaged came when Hough "introduced Hayley as my girlfriend and I kinda stopped myself and was like, 'This feels wrong. That word does not live up to what this relationship is.' That was a good indication of like, 'OK, I think it’s time to go to the next step.'"

Lopez hinted that Hough's engagement was a long time coming when she commented on his post that announced he'd proposed to Erbert. "Omg!! Yessss... we've been waiting for this!! Lol... Congratulations."

"It was awesome hearing from everybody and the support and the love," Hough told ET of Lopez and others' comments. "It’s great."

As for the proposal itself, Hough said it was quite the feat to pull it off, as Erbert is "impossible" to surprise.

"That was like a covert operation," he joked. "We're actually making a little video right now that we're gonna post soon showing how it went down."

The pair has yet to start wedding planning in earnest, though Hough said that he and Erbert "wanna get on it."

"We don’t want a long engagement," he shared. "We’ve been together long enough."

They have, however, "already been booking talent" for their wedding reception.

"It's gonna be a festival," he teased. "I’m just gonna tell you right now, it's gonna be like a concert because we have some really talented friends."

While Hough and Erbert are excited about watching some epic performances at their reception, the couple isn't sure if they'll take the stage for their guests.

"I don't know if we wanna do a wedding dance," Hough revealed. "Maybe we'll do a little something side to side, but nothing elaborate, because we dance every day... We're like, 'This is our night. You all perform for us.'"

Following his engagement, Hough had to make on one change to his Vegas residency, which is running through Sept. 10 at The Venetian Resort.

"There's one bit in there where I used to joke around about proposing, but I actually did propose, so we had to switch that part around a little bit," he said. "I do joke [where I say], 'I had to come back to do 12 weeks here in Vegas to pay for the ring 'cause it’s a beauty.'"

Hough promised that "there's something in the show for absolutely everybody," adding that there's "all different genres of music" during the "high energy" performance.

"It’s amazing. The energy, the excitement that we create in this small room is fantastic. That's what I love about this room too, is it's so intimate," he said. "I feel like the audience really [feels like] a part of the show. I’m so thankful. I never take it for granted. I hope to share that passion, share that energy every single night on the stage."

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