Getty Matthew Lawrence and Cheryl Burke
“Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Cheryl Burke filed for divorce from husband Matthew Lawrence on February 18. Now the actor has officially responded in court with his terms, per “Entertainment Tonight.”
Here is what his response was and how Cheryl is coping through the split.
Matthew Lawrence Wants The Judge to Uphold the Prenuptial Agreement
According to “Entertainment Tonight,” Lawrence responded that he is not seeking any spousal support and, like Burke, he is asking the court not to award any spousal support on either side.
Lawrence also cited the reason for the divorce as “irreconcilable differences” and is requesting that the judge uphold their prenuptial agreement, which would be used to decide how they divide their assets.
Cheryl and Matthew met through “Dancing With the Stars” when his older brother Joey Lawrence was a contestant on season three in 2006. They dated briefly before splitting up for nearly 10 years, then reconciled in 2017 and married in May of 2019.
When news of the split broke, a source told “Entertainment Tonight” that the pair had “been having issues for a while” and a second source said the divorce was “a long time coming.”
The second source added, “They have a lot of history together, and while they hoped this time around would be different, it proved otherwise. They have been living separate lives for a couple months now.”
Cheryl Is Being Candid About Struggling Amidst The Divorce
In an Instagram post on March 16 of Cheryl spending some time with her mom, she said that she has been learning about “communicating effectively with your loved ones” when you are having a hard time. She realized she wasn’t getting across to her mother how hard things are for her right now, but once she did, their “whole dynamic” changed.
Cheryl wrote:
My mom is a very social person, so on our trip together she has wanted to partake in all the activities, dinners. etc. For me, the idea of doing so is completely overwhelming right now and my resistance has led to some conflict. Looking back I don’t think I was really explaining to her where I was at in a way that she could understand and we both felt frustrated. After a long talk and lots of tears, the whole dynamic has changed and we are really enjoying our time here together.
She advised her followers to not be “afraid to have the uncomfortable conversations.”
In some previous social media posts since news of the divorce broke, Cheryl has been honest with her followers about how “scary” the process of getting divorced is, saying in a video that her intention is “to really try and feel [her] feelings and more importantly, not judge [her] feelings when [she’s] feeling them.”
In a separate post, she said that she has been “spend[ing] some time alone” in order to process “some big emotions.”
She added, “If I’m being honest, really feeling my feelings is new to me. I’ve spent my entire life up to this point trying to numb them, and I’m learning that really going through them is A LOT harder … being alone for a few days has been the best thing for me. I would highly encourage anyone else out there to try it and not feel guilty for needing that space.”
“Dancing With the Stars” has not yet been renewed for season 31. If it is renewed, it will return in September 2022.
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