Dancing With the Stars has come a long way since siblings Julianne Hough and Derek Hough joined the feel-good reality competition back in 2007 (her in the spring, him in the fall). "In the beginning, it was like the Wild Wild West," recalls Derek. "We're like, maybe we'll do a bench. Maybe we'll have a bike on stage. Maybe try a stool. No joke, having a stool [on stage] was a big deal. Now it's like, 'Hey, can I have an Aztec ruin come from the ceiling [with a] water feature coming down [so it's] raining on set?'" Not surprisingly, the two can't help but get emotional when they talk about the show's 20-year milestone. (Fans may get emotional, too, at what's in store when the special birthday episode - including the return of former host Tom Bergeron as a guest judge - airs November 11 at 8 p.m. on ABC and Disney+; streaming next day on Hulu.) For Derek and Julianne, they've spent much of their adult lives in the DWTS ballroom. Julianne, 37, danced as a pro for five seasons, winning two Mirrorball Trophies, then returned for another five seasons as a judge before becoming the cohost alongside Alfonso Ribeiro in 2023. Derek, 40, spent 17 seasons as a pro, taking home a record six trophies, and turned judge in 2020. "I feel humbled that I've been able to be a part of a show that raised me," says Julianne. "It's always been my safe place to call home." Derek credits DWTS with helping him through the hardest times of his life. In December 2023, his wife, fellow pro dancer Hayley Erbert, 31, underwent an emergency craniectomy for a cranial hematoma and later received a skull implant. In mid-October, the pair - who are expecting their first child together - revealed they had previously suffered a miscarriage. "This show," says Derek through tears, "literally has saved my life. Without it, I genuinely don't know where I would be. It's so much more than rhinestones and glitter and lights." DISNEY/ERIC MCCANDLESS The siblings sat down with Us to talk about their unbreakable bond, the family they've found on the show and the everlasting appeal of Dancing With the Stars. It's been two decades since DWTS debuted! What emotions come up for you when you think about that? JH I remember watching when I was still living in Utah [after] I'd made the decision to come out to L.A. with $2,000. [Dancing] was this craft that Derek and I had been working [on] our whole lives, so to see it on national television was amazing. I'm so proud to be part of [this] show. It's always been that consistent through line in my life. Derek and Julianne Hough Detail the 'Life Lessons' Learned From Dance DH I think about that 22-year-old kid who didn't know what he was doing. I've had heartbreaks and the best moments of my life in that ballroom. I've battled with self-doubt and had fights in that room. So much has happened in this one space. I've literally grown up on this show. To do that on TV in front of millions of people, it's extraordinary. And here we are 20 years later, and it's bigger than ever. And what has it been like being on this ride together, pretty much from the beginning? DH When we started, they knew what to do with Julianne. They were like, "She's a star." But with me, they're like, "What do we do with this boy... dancer... guy?" JH I was very specific that I wanted to act and sing. DH I actually want to give Jules her flowers. When she came on the show, she changed the trajectory of DWTS forever. She became the model of what we see now - that multifaceted dancer. She came in and disrupted the whole scene. Every 'Dancing With the Stars' Pro Through the Years: Where Are They Now? JH I'm Derek's biggest fan. He just literally made me want to fall on the floor with all the compliments. He's always the first person to recognize and see me for who I am. He always has my back, and I know I can trust that my brother is always there because he's shown up that way. DH And I'll be honest [with her], like, "Yo, that was wack," and vice versa. JH To watch my brother become one of the most celebrated choreographers on DWTS - this is what makes me cry. Derek doesn't think small, so to witness his journey has made me so proud. Having this shared experience - a lot of siblings don't get to do that together. Has there ever been any sibling rivalry between you? DH When she went [on the show], I was like, "Oh, OK, now I have to go on." And then she won that season. JH He would smoke me in the Latin competitive dance world we [were in] as kids. But I was like, "Oh, you're coming to my turf now." DWTS' Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert Expecting Baby No. 1 DH We joke around. She'll say, "I won the show twice," and I'll be like, "I won six times," and she goes, "Yeah, but I was only on the show for five seasons." She won two out of five and I won six out of 17, so her ratio is better. How do you think the show has evolved over the years? DH [Early on], we were still figuring things out. We were like, "Should we have confetti?" Now there's confetti in every