01:25 She's really just down to earth and just a good heart, beautiful soul.
01:31 Derek and Hailey's love story began in 2015, when both were featured as professional dancers on Dancing With the Stars.
01:38 Derek as a pro, Hailey in the troupe.
01:47 Over the years, when it came to taking the next step in their relationship, Derek told ET he didn't feel any rush to get married.
01:54 Do I feel pressure getting married? No, you know what, it's taken a long time.
01:58 So, it's like, for me, I'm looking at things at stages.
02:02 And for me, that's going to be the next stage, so it can get settled in that way. Physically grounded, physically settled.
02:08 That next stage came in 2022, when Derek popped the question.
02:12 There was a time when I introduced Hailey as my girlfriend, and I kind of stopped myself and I was like, "This feels wrong."
02:18 That word does not live up to what this relationship is.
02:22 When ET caught up with the lovebirds earlier this year, just months before their August wedding, Derek sweetly shared the moment he knew Hailey was the one.
02:30 Whenever I was around her, she always saw something in me that sometimes I didn't see in myself.
02:35 And I think I really felt that genuine love and real love that felt like it wasn't anything that had to do with anything I was doing or what I've achieved or done.
02:47 It was just me. It was the first time really in my life where I didn't feel like I had to do all those things.
02:52 It was just like, I can just be, like, love is love, you know, and love equals love. And just being me is enough.
02:58 I mean, I feel like I'm winning a Hallmark card. Love is love. Love is enough.
