Why Did Cheryl Burke Leave Dancing With the Stars? Is She Coming Back?
You win some, you lose some. In former Dancing With the Stars pro Cheryl Burke‘s case, that saying is about more than just Mirrorball Trophies. Burke, who was a pro on Dancing With the Stars on and off from Seasons 2 to 31, revealed in an episode of her podcast “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” in 2023 that she’s lost friends after leaving the series in 2022 after 25 seasons on the series.
In an episode of her podcast in October 2023, Burke claimed that another Dancing With the Stars pro “came at” her after she launched her podcast, in which she spills secrets from the show — the good, the bad, and the ugly. “It really p—d me off that you’re getting some heat for this,” guest and former Dancing With the Stars host Tom Bergeron told Burke. “It’s just like f—d. Get a life. Relax. If you don’t like it, don’t listen. Don’t watch. Move on.”
Burke added, “How about this? A pro dancer came at me.” While Burke didn’t name who the pro was, she also discussed losing friends in the past year since starting her podcast. “You really know who your friends are when you’re up, right? But it’s when you’re down or struggling, you really know who your true friends are. The takeaway, I guess, for me is just to focus on what I do have as opposed to what I had or that feeling of lack,” she said in an Instagram video in December 2023. She continued, “Those people in my life showed me their true colors”
Though she’s lost friends, Burke revealed in an Instagram Story in December 2023 that she’s still close with at least four pros from Dancing With the Stars: Edyta Śliwińska, Kym Herjavec, Anna Trebunskaya, and Karina Smirnoff.
“Are you still close friends with Edyta/Kym/Anna/Karina? I miss the good old days,” a follower asked Burke, who responded, “You know it’s like one of those relationships where you’ll be friends forever no matter what. I mean, we’re definitely not as close as when we all worked together but I hear from Anya once and a while. I definitely hear from Kymmy once in a while and vice versa. I haven’t talked to Edita or Karina actually in a while, but let’s get them on the pod. “
Why did Cheryl Burke leave Dancing With the Stars?
So why did Cheryl Burke leave Dancing With the Stars? Burke competed on Seasons 2 to 19; 23; 25; and 27 to 31 of Dancing With the Stars. She won the Mirrorball Trophy twice in Season 2 with singer Drew Lachey and Season 3 with former NFL player Emmitt Smith. She placed second twice in Season 8 with actor Gilles Marini and Season 13 with reality TV star Rob Kardashian. She came in third place three times in Season 6 with actor Cristian de la Fuente, Season 17 with media personality Jack Osbourne, and Season 30 with Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby.
Burke announced that she was leaving Dancing With the Stars as a pro after Season 31 in an episode of on her “Burke in the Game” podcast in October 2023. “Yes, this is my last season as a dancer,” she said. “I do believe, though, that I have proven myself enough to where I could either be a correspondent or host. Not saying I’m trying to take anybody’s job, you guys. Please don’t write about that. I’m just saying you can always add another host. You can always add another judge. It’s a two-hour show with no commercial breaks.”
As for why she left, Burke explained that her age and changing body had to do with the reason for her retirement. “It is hard for me to leave. I always come back, because, I guess, it’s really hard to say goodbye to a show and to a family, that I’ve only known here in Los Angeles. I moved here when I was 21. I’m 38 now. My body is also telling me to stop,” she said. She continued, “I think it would be very unfair for me to stay knowing that. I think it’s now time.”
In an interview with Variety in 2023, Burke explained why she wasn’t asked to be a judge on Dancing With the Stars after original judge Len Goodman’s death earlier that year. “I’m not the person to ask. I know they wanted to go back to three judges and fair enough. At the end of the day, people would probably rather see more of the interaction between the couples than the judges speaking,” she said. “I will always be a fan of the show. This by no means is a dig to the show. I know where I came from, I would never bite the hand that fed me and that continues to be me. I’ll be the No. 1 fan that they know that I am.”
She continued of why she wanted to launch “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans.” This podcast is more just because we don’t get a chance to talk to the other celebrities in length like this. I talked to Heather Morris, who — I wasn’t on that season — but got her take and her conspiracy theory as to why she thinks she got eliminated. This has also been part of my grieving process with this show, because what a shame it would have been just to keep all this stuff to myself.”
For more on Dancing With the Stars, check out our gallery on DWTS‘ pros and their real-life families and children.
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