Cheryl Burke talks 'Dancing with the Stars' helping her heal
Cheryl Burke discusses her time on "Dancing with the Stars" and how the show helped her deal with the hardships she's experienced.
"Dancing with the Stars" pro Cheryl Burke is speaking out about how dancing has "saved" her.
Burke joined the show in its second season and was an instant fan favorite, going on to win the competition with her partner, Drew Lachey. She recreated her successful debut season in season 3 when she pulled out a win with her partner Emmitt Smith.
Throughout her time on the show, Burke has gone through many ups and downs in her personal life and credits the show for keeping her motivated and giving her a reason to keep going.
"I guess it always goes back to how dancing in a way has saved my life in many ways," she explained to Fox News Digital after filming the season 31 premiere on Monday.
Burke added, "Whether that is my sobriety or my divorce or when it was really rough last year … dancing has really, this show especially, has helped me take my mind off the stuff that has been really hard to deal with emotionally."
Cheryl Burke credits dance and "Dancing with the Stars" in general for saving her life in more ways than one. (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images)
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The professional dancer admits that without the show and the friendships she created while making it, she would be in a much different place.
"It makes me get out of bed. It makes me have a purpose in life, regardless," Burke said. "I think … if it wasn’t for a show like this, a family like this, I probably would be really upset and depressed and never leave my house."
Burke alluded to the rough moments she’s experienced in her life recently, including her struggles with sobriety and her divorce.
In February 2022, Burke announced that she and her husband, "Mrs. Doubtfire" actor Matthew Lawrence, were splitting up after three years of marriage. They got married in 2019 after a number of years together, but Burke filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
Actor Matthew Lawrence and Cheryl Burke got married in 2019 but divorced in 2022 after three years of marriage. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
After the divorce announcement was made, Burke took to Instagram to address the end of the relationship and ask her fans for privacy. She later posted something about one of her exes cheating on her, but she didn't provide any names, leaving it unclear if she was talking about Lawrence.
"I’ve realized there really isn’t an easy way to announce that my marriage is ending," she said on Instagram at the time. "I hope you can understand that I will not be commenting any further at this time and am asking for understanding and privacy. Thank you all for all the kind words and support you’ve given me."
Although there were a few bumps in the road, the divorce was reportedly finalized in September.
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Back in 2018, when the couple first got engaged, Burke revealed she decided to give up alcohol. In 2020, after celebrating two years of sobriety, she revealed that her engagement was one of the reasons she decided to get sober but the main reason was the passing of her father, who was an alcoholic.
Throughout her time on the show, Burke has gone through many ups and downs in her personal life and credits the show for keeping her motivated and giving her a reason to keep going. (Adam Larkey/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
"I wasn’t drunk, I wasn’t hungover, but it was still when I was drinking. I remember messing up on my choreography … I butchered my routine when I’m supposed to be there for the celebrity," Burke said during an October 2020 episode of her "Pretty Messed Up" podcast." "I was self-sabotaging, and from then on I felt like my career plummeted down."
In speaking with "Entertainment Tonight," Burke called her experience this season as a sober woman "interesting" and a "whole new experience."
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"Dancing with the Stars" streams on Mondays on Disney+.
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