In the wake of her split from Matthew Lawrence, Cheryl Burke has gotten honest about the steps she is taking to improve herself.
The couple dated from 2007 to 2008 before giving their romance another try in 2017. Burke first sparked romance rumors with Lawrence after his older brother, Joey Lawrence, competed on season 3 of Dancing With the Stars.
Us Weekly confirmed in February 2022 that Burke filed for divorce from Lawrence after nearly three years of marriage. Legal documents obtained by Us state that the professional dancer and Lawrence split due to “irreconcilable differences” and the date on which they separated was January 7.
The ABC personality addressed the major life change that same month, writing via Instagram, “I know I’ve always said I’m an open book with you guys, and I do strive to be, but in writing this, I realized that there is no easy way to announce that my marriage is ending.” During this time, I will not be commenting further and ask for your understanding. I greatly appreciate all the kind words and support you’ve given me.”
Cheryl is taking this time to focus on her mental health and next steps, according to a source exclusively told Us at the time.
Previously, Matthew and his girlfriend discussed their plans to become parents, but he hasn’t commented on the split publicly. He told Us in April 2020, “We’re just waiting to see what happens because I think we were going to move, we were going to begin that next journey.” “But right now, everything is sort of on hold. When this is over, I think we’ll have a clearer picture.”
“When you stop that communication and you don’t try every day, that’s when things start to slowly fall apart,” the Melissa & Joey star added.
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Below you will find everything Burke has said about the next chapter of her life:
She needs some time to herself
Taking a few days alone to focus inward, reflect and really try to feel my feelings – with my partner in crime of course,” the ballroom pro wrote via Instagram in February 2022. Burke and Lawrence tied the knot in May 2019 at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego, where she snapped her social media snaps.
Her Instagram Story later read, “Some quiet time alone with this girl is just what I needed. Thank you for being my home away from home @fairmontgranddelmar.”
Putting in the effort
A “somatic intelligence” program helped Burke “feel [her] feelings for the first time in a long time” in March 2022.
To put it mildly, it’s been an interesting journey so far. It’s been scary because I am so used to pushing through because of my athleticism and dancing. In an Instagram video, she explained that as a competitor, you learn to push forward regardless of pain, which means you don’t listen to your actual body. The experience of being able to take your mind off everything and listen to your body has been both uplifting and sad at the same time.
Burke found several doors opened during her personal journey by taking the initiative to “not judge” herself. A lot of past trauma is coming up from my dad’s death to the abuse that I have endured throughout the years. But I guess you could say I’ve never truly felt my feelings before. I’ve just pushed through,” she said. Although it may seem scary at first, I know it’s worth it in the long run.”
Self-discovery
Burke recently shared her future plans in a lengthy Instagram post. When I am struggling with big emotions in my life, I find that spending time alone is the best thing I can do — aside from being with [my dog] Ysa, of course, but I truly consider her a part of me, so she doesn’t count.” The Dance Moms alum writes, “If I’m being honest, I’ve never felt my feelings before.”
She also talked about feeling “numb” most of her life.
As she added, “I am experiencing complicated and not exactly happy emotions right now, which makes it hard.” However, the less obvious reason is that I am realizing I am prone to judging my own feelings, and that magnifies when I’m around others. The perceptions of others of the way I deal with my emotions often cause me to wonder if I am feeling things the ‘right way.'”
An update
While discussing her “tough” time on Instagram in March 2022, Burke said, “Transcendental meditation has been really helpful on the journey of feeling my feelings.” “I am very vulnerable at this time, and I think that is what TM brings out in you — along with the therapy I am in.” “The experience has definitely helped me open my heart, and I must now learn to accept my feelings with grace and not judge them.”
As she continued, “It’s just been a lot and I realized I was throwing temper tantrums at myself like a kid. But I also realized it shows that I am maturing and open to feeling instead of pushing it down.”
Getting a new perspective
In my life, I learned that if I could control everything and everyone around me, I would be ok. Burke wrote via Instagram in April 2022, “The reality is that I have very little control over the life I’ve been given.” “I don’t mean I don’t show up and do my part. It means I stop trying to control the outcome of a situation. Or stop trying to control how someone sees or views me.”
It was important to me to learn to trust in the process of time, according to Dance Moms alum, “that each experience is placed in my life for a reason.” She continued, “Each experience is bringing me valuable lessons to prepare me for the next thing.” In my everyday life, I feel much more peace when I learn to accept and respond to the situations around me.
The ups and downs
As Burke explained to Extra in May 2022, she’s still processing a lot of feelings about the divorce. “I’m not proud of it, it’s a s–t show,” she said. The truth is that I’m sad every morning when I wake up. I’m sad every night when I go to bed. Divorce sucks, so there is really nothing to hide. I don’t recommend it, but at the end of the day, it’s not like we didn’t try, and I know we tried.”
Providing advice
During a May 2022 interview, Burke spoke candidly about ending a relationship. She explained on Tamron Hall that “it is lonely, but if you are like me and tend to just hide in your shell, like I do, at least you know that you are not alone and that the process is painful.” “It’s like a death, isn’t it? And you don’t know how to grieve in any specific way.”
Is he being kicked out?
She allegedly claimed Lawrence was kicked out of their shared house before filing for divorce.
In a September 2022 TikTok video, playing a scene from Modern Love in the background, she lip-synced, “Did you sleep with him or just kiss him?”.
In addition to mouthing along with the Prime Video scene, Burke added captions referring to her relationship. “Kick him out of my house,” she wrote, alongside “Self Respect,” “Peace out,” and “Boundaries.”
New Year’s greetings
Having experienced more ups and downs, and frankly more heartache than before, I made it through the year that tried its best to break me. Although there were moments when I thought I might not be able to take it anymore, here I am in 2023. This experience has informed who I am today and the life that lies ahead of me – one where I no longer allow my past to define me. Ready for a new chapter with energy and optimism – let’s show what we can do this year! 🤍
A reflection on her progress
“I’m getting lots of questions about how I’m doing lately and what’s happening, so I wanted to let you know how I’m feeling. If I had to sum up how I feel in one word, I honestly couldn’t,” Burke wrote via Instagram in January 2023. “Each day presents its own bliss but also its own challenges.”
Occasionally, she says, “I wake up dominated by overwhelming feelings of anxiety, allowing my outside world to define who I am.” Then there are moments when I feel peace and ease within my soul, which has led me to learn how to connect with my true essence and purpose in life — which I will continue to discover for as long as I live.”
