Cheryl Burke is tired of the social media song and dance.
Over the years, the Dancing with the Stars former pro has been subject to much scrutiny, especially over her physical appearance. Now, Cheryl is detailing how the negativity took its toll on her mental health, even tempting her to break her sobriety, which she’s maintained for the last seven years.
On whether she ever considered drinking amid the negativity, she told Us Weekly in an interview published Aug. 6, “It was something that I definitely thought about doing, but I wouldn’t be able to live with that shame or guilt if I were to relapse. To have thrown seven years down the drain, I’d hate myself.”
“I’ve taken so much time to love who I see in the mirror, that is something that’s also new to me,” Cheryl continued, “but I definitely am on that path. I would hate what I would see if I ever drank a sip of alcohol.”
The temptation lay there, however, because for many years drinking gave Cheryl “constant confidence” and “the courage to go out.” But after seven years of sobriety, the former Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast host is “really proud” of the progress she’s made.
And she credits a lot of her mental wellbeing these days with learning how to tune out the noise.
“It’s always been this race for me to try and gain others’ acceptance rather than find it within myself,” the 41-year-old explained. “To say that the social media bullying has not affected me would be a lie. I’m human… There were days it got really bad, and I did get depressed because it’s now on a whole other level of dehumanizing.”
And with the world she and her therapist have done over the last 15 years, Cheryl is happy to report, “It doesn’t affect me as much as it did.” Plus, an energy healer has helped her “remember who [she] really” is, and that she isn’t defined by “the outside noise.”
And the outside noise has been particularly loud of late, with Cheryl being the center of rumors saying she’s used weight-loss drugs and lightened her skin—both of which she adamantly denies.
In fact, she credits much of her new look—beyond the lifestyle changes she made to help lose weight—to discovering who she is outside of Dancing with the Stars, which dictated her appearance for so long.
“I’ve never gone under the knife to get anything done,” she said. “There’s been no nips, tucks, Ozempic, nothing like that. To be called a liar obviously doesn’t feel good, but I also know my truth. I’m learning to feel comfortable in my skin, my actual skin I was born with. This is who I am and I feel great that I don’t have layers of makeup on; this is just for me.”
As she put it, “Being 41 is a change. My career, relationship status and where I live have changed. Those are huge changes; and you can either fight it, or you can embrace it.”
And these days, Cheryl is focused only on embracing it. For more of the dancer’s most candid moments over the years, keep reading.
A Tough Break
Cheryl Burke admitted that her 2022 exit from Dancing With the Stars was “hands down” harder than her divorce from Matthew Lawrence, who she split with that same year.
“You can’t compare,” she shared in an April 2024 episode of Amy & T.J. podcast, explaining that the show was her “identity” at one point. “I credit them for giving me a voice in general.”
More Money, More Problems
Reflecting on her three-year marriage with the Boy Meets World actor, Cheryl believes her DWTS salary put a strain on their relationship.
“I learned that you can’t buy love,” she said on Amy & T.J. “Obviously, I didn’t buy my ex-husband, but I definitely would say I was the breadwinner. I supported us.”
Dance Like You Mean It
The dancer got candid about being the challenges of not being able to choose a DWTS partner as a pro dancer, sharing that “whoever walks in through that door, you don’t turn around and walk out.”
“This is showbiz,” she told Variety in 2023. “I’m an employee. You can’t just turn around and walk out and say I’m sorry. That’s not part of the contract. It’s a fine line.”
Too Hot to Foxtrot
Cheryl set the record straight on rumors that she hooked up with her Dancing With the Stars season eight partner Gilles Marini when they were training together in 2009.
“We had that thing without having that thing,” she said in an April 2024 episode of the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast. “Chemistry.”
Though Cheryl admitted that the two were “very close,” she said, “Nothing has ever happened physically between us.”
Open Book
Amid her divorce, Cheryl had a blunt message for critics who thought she was sharing too much about her personal life on social media.
“Don’t waste the time to comment because I do know for a fact that I’m helping at least one person,” she said in an E! News interview. “At the end of the day, those people I feel might need to take a note a little bit and really just understand that this is somebody’s story.”
Going Sober
Cheryl has been open about her sobriety journey, sharing that the 2018 death of her dad was what led her to abstain from alcohol.
“My father passed away—and my dad was an alcoholic—so either I was gonna crash and burn and check myself into rehab, or I was gonna just quit cold turkey,” she said in a 2020 episode of the LadyGang podcast. “That’s just my personality. It’s either black or white.”
Getting Vulnerable
And the Dance Moms coach isn’t afraid of showing her vulnerable side.
“To say that my sobriety has been easy would be a lie,” Cheryl said in a June 2021 YouTube video. “When I keep secrets or don’t tell my truth to everyone, including my followers, that’s when it gets scary for me.”
