'Dancing With the Stars' pro Cheryl Burke is 2 years sober
"Dancing With the Stars" pro Cheryl Burke announced Tuesday that she's crossed a major milestone: She's officially two years sober.
Speaking to the "LadyGang" podcast, the 36-year-old opened up about her past addiction to alcohol and why she walked away from the destructive lifestyle.
"It was just a decision that I made for myself," Burke said. "It was when Matt [Lawrence] and I got engaged and it was during that engagement party that ... I was just, like, I was done."
The former "Dance Moms" coach, who married Lawrence in 2019. She gave up alcohol because she didn't want to end up like her father.
"My dad was an alcoholic," Burke said about her late father. "So either I was gonna crash and burn and check myself into rehab or I was gonna just quit cold turkey."
The two-time Mirror Ball champion noted that her snap decision to quit alcohol is an example of her personality, saying she sees things as "either black or white."
Burke also opened up about how her past experiences with addiction allowed her to develop a close bond with current "DWTS" celebrity partner AJ McLean.
"We just bonded right away," Burke said when recounting how she and the Backstreet Boys singer met via Zoom for the first time. Now, they can talk freely about their therapy and self-help because of their past struggles.
While most of their deep discussions wind up being cut, Burke said she completely understands why "DWTS" shies away from airing such sensitive content.
"It's not about us. It's about the celebrity, 100%," she explained.
