Derek Hough Reveals Childhood Bullying Trauma

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 late last year, got candid about the topic during an episode of The Bossticks podcast shared on Monday. 

The 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.' 

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