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“Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Cheryl Burke announced her retirement from being a pro on the competition show during season 31, which aired on Disney+ in the fall of 2023.
Now, Burke says the show is the “worst breakup” in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“It’s the worst breakup I’ve ever been through,” she told the outlet. “There was probably, you know, an option for me to bow out quietly. However, I know that, you know, in my subconscious, if there’s always that option to go back and continue being a professional dancer, and I don’t say that lightly, then… I will never, I guess, give that energy that I am ready to move forward.”
She went on to call retiring from the show a “double whammy” because she went straight from competitions to “Dancing With the Stars.”
“I won’t be competing in general anymore,” Burke told Fox News Digital.
Burke Went Through a Divorce in 2022
Burke didn’t just go through a change professionally in 2022, she also went through a huge personal change during the year, divorcing her husband, Matthew Lawrence.
They settled their divorce, though they still have one more thing to settle: the custody of their dog, a Frenchie named Ysabella.
“I know that some of you must have been reading some of the headlines that have been out recently about my divorce and about how there’s one thing pending, which is very true and all true, which is my dog Ysabella. For those of you that follow me, you know that I’m a dog mom. I love my Frenchie, Ysabella,” said Burke on her podcast “Burke In the Game” in November 2022.
The professional dancer told Fox News Digital that she wants to feel “constantly challenged” in her life, and her marriage wasn’t doing that for her.
“From my divorce, feeling it, this feeling of stagnant, which I started developing as well later in the marriage and not growing, whether that be, you know, in a relationship or within the company is something that I am never comfortable with – is not being able to grow,” Burke shared. “So it is important for me to do other things. And I’ve done 26 seasons with the same job, with the same role, right? With the same job title. So for me, you know, that would be going against my values and beliefs as a human being if I didn’t do this.”
She also said her decision to leave was “a long time coming.”
Burke Plans to Stay on TV
In the November 22 episode of her podcast “Burke in the Game,” Burke shared that she hopes to be on another TV show in the near future.
“I do know once one door closes, I’m pretty sure, because it has to happen, another door opens,” Burke said on the podcast. “There’s a lot of talks about me being a part of possibly another television show, which stay tuned for that. I obviously don’t want to announce anything that hasn’t been official as far as contracts go, but it is definitely in the works and it has been since even before this season.”
The dancer has also put out there that she would love to be a judge or a host on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Burke originally revealed in October 2021 to Hello! Magazine that she wanted to retire from professional dancing on the show but was hoping to stay on as a judge or a host on “Dancing With the Stars” or “Strictly Come Dancing.”
“I have been begging for that job, how many seasons does a girl have to do?” Burke joked with the outlet.
She has continued to share that sentiment with fans, especially now that head judge Len Goodman has retired from the show.
“Dancing With the Stars” is set to return for season 32 in the fall of 2023 on Disney+.
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