Cheryl Burke Reveals Why She Chooses To Stay Single Amid Healing Process
Cheryl Burke is sharing a deeply personal journey of healing and self-discovery. During an appearance on the Oldish podcast, hosted by Randy Spelling, Brian Austin Green, and Sharna Burgess, the Dancing with the Stars alum, spoke about how childhood trauma has shaped her adult relationships and self-perception.
Reflecting on the sexual abuse she endured as a child, Cheryl explained that while she has made progress since testifying against her abuser at age 9, healing is an ongoing process. “Sharna, you were saying, ‘People must think that you have this perfect life,’” Cheryl shared, and it’s so beautiful how you went from all this child abuse, you know, me getting sexually molested when I was a little girl,’” Burke said. “In my brain, this is home, unfortunately.”
Cheryl opened up about how this early trauma created a sense of comfort in mistreatment, influencing her choices as she grew older. “[It] was not having a father figure and turning to men who weren’t, I guess, healthy, but also I was attracting physical and mental abuse because this is all I knew, so it felt like home,” she explained.
This deeply ingrained pattern even affected her work as a professional dancer. Cheryl recalled how she felt uneasy when treated with kindness by her dance partners. “I remember feeling so disgusted when I would have a nice dance partner, let’s say, who would treat me with respect. Now that’s how much I hated myself, to the point where I was disgusted by people who were nice to me because, obviously, which I didn’t know back then, but I didn’t think I deserved that type of treatment. It was so foreign to me, it was like it gave me the ick,” she revealed.
The Emmy-nominated dancer also reflected on her decision to embrace celibacy after separating from her ex-husband, Matthew Lawrence, in 2022. “This is why I’ve been single…there’s no magic switch – but I know I’m not ready to date yet,” she stated.
Cheryl further shared a heartbreaking memory from her early childhood that she believes left a lasting imprint. In her words: “My first memory as a kid was seeing my father with another woman…It’s so funny because I always ask my guests this, like, ‘What’s your first memory as a kid?’ For the most part, it’s all like, ‘My grandma picked me out of the crib.’ But I’m like, ‘Great, I saw my father literally be intimate with another Filipino woman,’ which was his secretary. And [her parents] were already separated, mind you, but still I was like freaking 2 years old.”
Despite the challenges, Cheryl credits her stepfather, whom she affectionately calls “Dad,” for bringing stability into her life. His presence marked a turning point in her journey toward finding healthier relationships.
