Hayes Grier is such a natural in front of the camera that sometimes it’s hard to remember that he’s only 15 years. While you certainly feel like an adult (or close to one) at 15, you’re really still a kid. On Hometown Week, Hayes had a touching Dancing With The Stars reunion with his mom that proved that you’re never too old to need your mommy (I know I certainly do, sometimes).
In the preparation bit that Dancing With The Stars shows before the actual dance happens, Emma (Hayes’ partner) was talking quite a bit about how important family is to Hayes, and, though we’ve already met Hayes’ brother, Nash, this time, we got a glimpse of Hayes’ mother and sister, whom he hasn’t seen in over four months. They were watching Hayes and Emma in rehearsals, and in her interview, Hayes’ mom was tearful about not seeing her boy for a while. Ugh, my heart! Mom and sis watched Hayes learn this difficult foxtrot to “This Is How We Roll,” a song that reminds Hayes of hanging with his friends and family back in North Carolina, and then it was time to perform. Despite a weird motocross crossover (Hayes rides motorbikes, but it was still a weird juxtaposition to their very elegant dance), he nailed it.
The tears really started flowing (at home and on the Dancing With The Stars stage) when Hayes ran to hug his mother after his dance, and she kept telling him how proud she was of him. Hayes was equally as emotional, saying how hard it was not to see her for four months (he said they know each other like the back of their respective hands) and that he was happy he got a nice, home-cooked meal. Swoon. I mean, I’m way too old for Hayes, but it’s always a nice thing when a man (or boy, in this situation) really loves his mother.
Hayes was absolutely the cutest here because he turned back into a little kid. Gone was the façade of being a Vine star — he was just back to being a child that needed his mom. That’s not something you see often on Dancing With The Stars. The judges loved it, too, giving Hayes decent scores and sending him (probably) to tomorrow’s show.
Images: Adam Taylor/ABC
