Derek Hough recalls being 'tormented' by childhood bullies as one held a gun to his head: 'I was scared'

Derek Hough recalled being 'tormented' by childhood bullies when he was younger, with one putting a gun to his head in a terrifying moment. 

The 41-year-old TV personality, who welcomed his first child with wife Hayley Erbert late last year, got candid about the topic during an episode of The Bossticks podcast shared on Monday. 

The Dancing With The Stars pro expressed that he had been 'on the outside' and found it difficult to fit in with other students at school. 

'Being a dancer didn't help. I would get the crap beaten out of me,' Hough said. 

'At one school a kid punched me in the face, I was bleeding everywhere. But then I retaliated and started beating him up and then I got expelled from school.'

However, Hough said he got even worse treatment from kids in his neighborhood by adding, 'They would, like, hang me up in a tree by my ankles and put a gun to my head and spit on me or hogtie me in a field and it was... I was scared.'

The experience caused the star to have 'night terrors' and to 'wet the bed.'

'I was a scared kid. I was a terrified kid,' Hough told the podcast hosts. 'Scared of the dark. Scared of my shadow. Just, scared and constantly on edge.' 

But at the age of 12, he relocated to London to train and compete in professional dancing. 

'It was interesting. Once I was there, I felt... it was like I was on track. You know, and I felt safe. I actually felt safe being away. I felt like I had a goal, I had a vision. I knew what I was doing.' 

Hough further explained that he no longer felt like he was 'floating around' and 'being scared.'

Instead, he finally had a sense of 'clarity' and added that 'clarity is power.' 

The professional dancer has previously talked about his experience with being bullied as a child. 

Last year in October, Hough took to Instagram to upload a video as he reflected on the effects bullying had on him while preparing to enter fatherhood himself. 

'For those of you who don't know this about me, I was severely bullied as a kid myself,' he expressed to his followers at the time. 

The performer told his fans of traumatic incidents which included him being 'beaten up' or 'being spat on.'

Hough also explained that, 'It really got me thinking about the world that we're shaping for each other.

'Somewhere along the line, we've almost been conditioned, maybe without even realizing it, that the fastest way for us to be noticed is to lean into negativity.'

He added, 'To cut through the noise by putting others down or by being the loudest critic in the room.' 

The media personality then encouraged individuals to ask themselves that when 'we speak up, are we adding to the good in this world or just adding to the noise?'

Hough continued, 'As I step into fatherhood, this is something that I'm committing to reflecting on, and I invite you to try it out.

'I know there will always be negativity out there, but if you're up for a little reflection, let's pause before we post, before we comment and ask, "Am I being a force for good?"' 

Back in 2023, Hough tied the knot with fellow dancer Hayley Erbert during a romantic ceremony in Monterey County, California. 

'We got married, right in front of this mother tree that's surrounded by all these smaller trees,' Erbert shared to People about the big day.

'They drop all the seeds, and it plants kind of like an army of children to protect the mother. The symbolism of it was beautiful. We're here, planting our seeds to grow our family.' 

Later that same year, Erbert underwent emergency brain surgery after she was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel. 

In July 2025, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child together. Months later, the pair revealed a previous miscarriage as they awaited their 'rainbow' baby.

And shortly after Christmas, their daughter Everley was welcomed to the world. 

Hough and Erbert jumped to Instagram to share the news and wrote: 'December 29, 2025 Everley Capri Hough.

'Every step of our lives has led us to you. Our hearts have been cracked wide open and our world is forever changed.'