Burke talks 'Dancing with the Stars' helping her heal
Cheryl Burke discusses her time on "Dancing with the Stars" and how the show helped her deal with the hardships she's experienced.
Cheryl Burke is getting real about the fat-shaming she endured during the years "Dancing with the Stars" was "getting Super Bowl ratings."
Burke, 39, left the ballroom dancing competition in 2022 after 26 seasons as a pro. At the show's peak, Burke endured comments about her weight from viewers and fellow professionals – including Maks Chmerkovskiy.
"[Maks] apologized years ago when this whole thing happened. He apologized to me and my mother, actually, which was nice of him," Burke told the New York Post. "But look, is there closure? I don’t know if there’s closure. I mean, it’s not just because of him saying anything. It goes back to my dancing and competition career."
‘DANCING WITH THE STARS’ PRO CHERYL BURKE REFLECTS ON HOW SHOW HAS ‘SAVED’ HER LIFE
Cheryl Burke said she isn't sure she's found closure even though Maks Chmerkovskiy has apologized for fat-shaming her. (Getty Images)
"This has always been an issue because I am a curvy girl, and that’s just the way it is," she said. "And I can’t change where my bones are or my hips. And it’s just – it is what it is. And either I accept it or I don’t. And obviously, when all your whole life it’s been centered around basically that, it’s hard to accept it."
She continued, "So, I think, at the end of the day, I [need] closure with myself. And in order for that to happen, I have to love me and the body that God blessed me with, really."
Burke's first partner was Drew Lachey – during his brother, Nick Lachey, and Jessica Simpson's divorce – which drew extra media attention to the professional dancer. Burke was 21 years old when she joined the cast of the show and the pair won the season.
Cheryl Burke partnered with Drew Lachey for her first season of "Dancing with the Stars." (Adam Larkey/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
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Cheryl Burke and Drew Lachey won "Dancing with the Stars." (Adam Larkey/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
"I think that was when people started coming in a way after me, and you can’t really – it’s hard because I was growing up in front of people’s eyes on TV. I started when I was 21, and your hormones change, and I did gain some weight," she told the New York Post. "I base my life off of seasons here, but I think it was like season 7 or 8, right before I danced with Gilles Marini. And I’ll never forget being the center of the tabloids, just like, ‘Is she too fat for TV?’ All of these horrible comments."
"And it wasn’t just me. It was also Lacey Schwimmer at the time," Burke noted. "And then some of these pro dancers agreeing with it."
Cheryl Burke said she received additional media attention while being partnered with Drew Lachey due to Nick Lachey's divorce from Jessica Simpson. (Getty Images)
Burke still doesn't believe that the message put out today is "necessarily healthy," but it's "slowly getting there."
"I think we’re slowly getting better," she said. "But it is important to still represent that by action and not just by words."
A representative for Burke did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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Despite the rough times she's endured, Burke credited the show for saving her and keeping her motivated.
Cheryl Burke left "Dancing with the Stars" after season 31. (Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
"I guess it always goes back to how dancing in a way has saved my life in many ways," she previously explained to Fox News Digital after filming the season 31 premiere in 2022.
Burke added, "Whether that is my sobriety or my divorce or when it was really rough last year … dancing has really, this show especially, has helped me take my mind off the stuff that has been really hard to deal with emotionally."
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