{"id":2118780,"date":"2025-10-27T17:52:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T17:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2118780"},"modified":"2025-10-27T17:52:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T17:52:21","slug":"why-did-cheryl-burke-leave-dancing-with-the-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/why-did-cheryl-burke-leave-dancing-with-the-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Did Cheryl Burke Leave \u2018Dancing With the Stars\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/cheryl-burke\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cheryl Burke;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Cheryl Burke<\/a> is making an unexpected return to\u00a0<em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/show\/dancing-with-the-stars\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Dancing With the Stars;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Dancing With the Stars<\/a><\/em> during the Tuesday, October 28, episode. She\u2019ll be sitting alongside <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/derek-hough\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Derek Hough;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Derek Hough<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/carrie-ann-inaba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Carrie Ann Inaba;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Carrie Ann Inaba<\/a>, and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/bruno-tonioli\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Bruno Tonioli;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Bruno Tonioli<\/a> as a guest judge for Halloween Night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Considering Burke\u2019s complicated history with the show, fans were shocked to hear about her return. Burke first joined the show as a pro during Season 2 and was in every season until Season 19 in 2014. She then returned for Seasons 23 and 25, as well as Season 27 through 31, before exiting the show for good in 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But the professional dancer has had some negative things to say about her experience in the time since. Scroll down for what we know about why she left and how come she\u2019s decided to return.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Why did Cheryl Burke leave\u00a0<em>Dancing With the Stars<\/em>?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Burke <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/ClME3S8p2EN\/?hl=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:announced;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">announced<\/a> her decision before the Season 31 finale, which she noted would be her \u201cfarewell\u201d dance. \u201cIt is time for me to begin the next phase of my career, although dance will always be a part of me,\u201d she explained. \u201cI am excited about the idea of evolving, about being challenged in new ways, having the ability to expand my commitment to mental health advocacy, focusing on my new found love for podcasting, &amp; I\u2019m ready to face the uncertainty (though it\u2019s scary as sh**) of what the future holds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She had a lot of praise for the show at the time, adding, \u201cThough there aren\u2019t enough words to express my deep gratitude &amp; love to my entire <em>DWTS<\/em> family I will end with this: thank you for being my rock &amp; foundation for close to two decades during the difficult moments &amp; most of all, thank you for giving ballroom dancing the credit &amp; attention it deserves,\u201d and, \u201cThis has truly been the experience of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>VINNY GUADAGNINO, KOKO IWASAKI, SHANGELA, GLEB SAVCHENKO, WAYNE BRADY, WITNEY CARSON, JODRIN SPARKS, BRANDON ARMSTRONG, CHERYL BURKE, SAM CHAMPION<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">ABC\/Lou Rocco<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">However, on a 2024 episode of her <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/1119-sex-lies-and-spray-tans-123223031\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:podcast;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">podcast<\/a>, Burke said that she really decided to leave because she wanted a promotion and felt she was never going to get it. She stepped away voluntarily, but said she had to fight hard to be highlighted with a farewell dance during the Season 31 finale.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just given to me, like \u2018Oh, OK, we\u2019re going to do a beautiful send-off,\u201d Burke explained. \u201cIt was a fight that my team had to really put their foot down and basically put everything into perspective for them. Like, \u2018Wow, you don\u2019t want to give her anything, not even a little goodbye?&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">At the time, she said she felt \u201cclosure\u201d about the situation, though, adding, \u201cI have no ill will towards anyone, really, but I could still be really hurt and disappointed that I\u2019ve lost friendships along the way, and that is called grieving. And everyone grieves differently, and for me, because a lot of these people I\u2019ve known for almost two decades, it\u2019s going to take time to really put that to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Burke has also expressed her disappointment at not being invited to perform during a tribute special to late judge <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/len-goodman\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Len Goodman;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Len Goodman<\/a> in 2023. She theorized that her podcast, on which she discussed the show with past contestants, was the reason she wasn\u2019t part of the tribute. Burke also said she \u201cdefinitely\u201d did \u201cnot\u201d still feel like part of the\u00a0<em>DWTS<\/em> family at the time.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Why is Cheryl Burke returning to\u00a0<em>Dancing With the Stars<\/em>?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Of her decision to return despite past controversy, Burke told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/cheryl-burke-reveals-if-she-regrets-speaking-out-against-dancing-with-the-stars-ahead-of-return-exclusive-11836608\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:People;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">People<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be emotional, but I am here in a different way this time. I\u2019m here for the couples, and I really hope to be able to give constructive criticism, but also be encouraging. And I know what it takes. I have been there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Burke didn\u2019t have any regrets over the past comments she\u2019s made, though, and pointed out that she\u2019s always made sure to note how \u201cgrateful\u201d she is for her time on the show. \u201cUnfortunately, when it comes to headlines, I can\u2019t control that, and we all know that headlines, unfortunately, sometimes focus on negative stuff,\u201d she shared. \u201cBut within the context of what I\u2019ve always said, I\u2019ve always gone back to the fact of how grateful I am to have been a part of such a huge, iconic show like <em>Dancing with the Stars.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The podcaster also confirmed she has not spoken to any of the other pros on the show since her exit, aside from a text exchange with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/emma-slater\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Emma Slater;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Emma Slater<\/a> ahead of Season 34.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">How many times has Cheryl Burke won\u00a0<em>Dancing With the Stars<\/em>?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Burke is a two-time\u00a0<em>Dancing With the Stars<\/em> champion. She won the show during her first two seasons (Seasons 2 and 3) while partnered with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/drew-lachey\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Drew Lachey;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Drew Lachey<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/emmitt-smith\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Emmitt Smith;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Emmitt Smith<\/a>, respectively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Some of Burke\u2019s other notable seasons include second place finishes with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/gilles-marini\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Gilles Marini;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Gilles Marini<\/a> (Season 8) and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/rob-kardashian\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Rob Kardashian;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Rob Kardashian<\/a> (Season 13), and third place finishes with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/cristian-de-la-fuente\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cristi\u00e1n de la Fuente;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Cristi\u00e1n de la Fuente<\/a> (Season 6), <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/william-levy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:William Levy;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">William Levy<\/a> (Season 14), <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/jack-osbourne\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Jack Osbourne;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Jack Osbourne<\/a> (Season 17), and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/cody-rigsby\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cody Rigsby;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Cody Rigsby<\/a> (Season 30).<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em><strong>Dancing With the Stars<\/strong><\/em><strong>, Season 34, Tuesdays, 8\/7c, ABC<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the latest entertainment news on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:TV Insider;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">TV Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cheryl Burke is making an unexpected return to\u00a0Dancing With the Stars during the Tuesday, October 28, episode. She\u2019ll be sitting alongside Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli as a guest judge for Halloween Night. Considering Burke\u2019s complicated history with the show, fans were shocked to hear about her return. Burke first joined the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2118781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[344312,357356,41508,343995],"class_list":["post-2118780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-carrie-ann-inaba","tag-cheryl-burke","tag-dancing-with-the-stars","tag-derek-hough"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Why-Did-Cheryl-Burke-Leave-\u2018Dancing-With-the-Stars.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2118780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2118782,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118780\/revisions\/2118782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2118781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2118780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2118780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2118780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}