Veteran Dancing With the Stars Pro Admits They Have ‘Zero Interest’ in Returning to the Show
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Former Dancing With the Stars pro Cheryl Burke had a very long run on the show — but would she consider returning to the dance competition again? It sounds like she’s firmly put the experience behind her.
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Burke left Dancing With the Stars in 2022. Despite her retirement from the show, she is still able to offer her unique perspective on her Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast. The podcast description explains: “Professional dancer Cheryl Burke has been a part of Dancing with the Stars since the very beginning. 26 Seasons of the samba, the rumba, and the cha cha. 24 Partners, 6 finals, and 2 mirror balls trophies. She knows all the secrets, the behind the scenes arguments and the affairs, the flings, the flirting and the fighting. It’s time to tell all.”
Is Cheryl Burke Coming Back to Dancing With the Stars?
In a September 2024 interview with Us Weekly, Burke revealed whether or not she would return to DWTS. “I’m done with that,” she admitted. “Feelings aside, I just have zero interest in teaching another celebrity how to dance, to be quite honest.”
Burke shared that a return really isn’t in the cards for her. “I don’t think I would be in a spot where it would be so easy for me to get sucked back in a way where it starts to define me again. And I’m still a little vulnerable to say, ‘OK, I’m ready to do that,’” she explained.
She also reflected on why she wasn’t asked to return to the show as a host or judge, something she previously said she was open to. “I can only assume — obviously I would guess it was the podcast — but hopefully now they understand that there’s no harm in this podcast whatsoever,” Burke explained. “We don’t even talk about the show until the end and most of the interview [is] about them.”
In 2022, the former Dancing With the Stars pro announced that she would be leaving, noting on an October 16 episode of the Burke in the Game podcast, “To have been a part of a show for 26 seasons, 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.”
She noted, “I moved here when I was 21. I’m 38 now. My body is also telling me to stop and it has been.”
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Burke explained, “It is what it is. Life moves on. There’s life after Dancing With the Stars. I do know that. I also know, though, that I have to move forward, one foot in front of the other and one step at a time. This is my time now.”
The pro said she “had an amazing run” and explained, “In my heart, I know this is the right decision. Am I scared? Yes. For sure I am. Am I going to be OK? Absolutely.”
More: Dancing With the Stars pros ranked from the least to most Mirrorball Trophy wins
In her September 2024 interview with Us Weekly, the former Dancing With the Stars pro reflected on her exit from the show. “I just feel like I am still, in a way, grieving but not nearly as heavy as it was a year ago. I also feel like it’s been helpful to hear my guests’ stories and what they’ve been through, because we don’t have that time to talk,” she shared. “And if we do get there, we always get pulled in a different direction. So there’s a lot of similarities, but there’s also beautiful memories, and it’s everything.”
Dancing With the Stars is available to stream on Disney+.
Watch ‘Dancing With the Stars’ on Disney Plus
For more on Dancing With the Stars, check out all the times the show has been accused of being rigged — including the winner fans think was faked.
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