In a recent video, Cheryl Burke discussed her toxic dating history and how she’s overcome her dangerous patterns. The Dancing with the Stars pro hopes that her story will inspire others struggling with similar issues to make a change in their life.
Cheryl Burke is currently happily married to actor Matthew Lawrence. The duo originally met in 2006 while Cheryl was working on the set of Dancing with the Stars. In early 2007, the couple confirmed the relationship after many rumors and speculation. In 2008, they abruptly broke up due to a complicated cheating scandal. After 10 years, they go back together in 2017. Shortly after rekindling the flame, the duo got engaged and married. She credits her husband for being “the complete opposite of everything bad about my past relationships”. Cheryl has struggled with love in her life, but she’s reached a point where she’s comfortable with her past and has grown into a stronger person. She urges others to seek help if they’re in an abusive relationship because changing and recovering is absolutely possible. “Just find someone you can trust and talk to and know you are not alone. I am living proof that where you are in life right now does not need to be where you are forever,” Burke said.
As reported by Fox News, Cheryl released a new video on her YouTube channel titled My Experience with Abusive Relationships. She discussed relationships she had during her teen and early twenties years. Burke admits that she was previously “addicted” to dating dangerous men and has a history of sleeping with boyfriends because she felt she “had to." The Dancing with the Stars pro also touched on a negative and traumatic experience she had with her babysitter as a child. Cheryl believes that the lack of conversations about healthy dating with her family may have affected her dating life later on.
“I want to share my experiences with all of you because I hope in turn it can help anyone who may have experienced something similar to know there is hope on the other side,” the ballroom dancer said during the video. “As an adult, I’ve just put a ton of time into learning more about mental health, forgiveness and healing. That is the reason why I am able to be sitting here today talking to you guys about all of this.” Cheryl described various relationships she had in high school including the fact that she lost her virginity with her first boyfriend when she was 13. Another relationship she covered in the video was being cheated on by a man who had a child with another woman. “After the s**ual abuse I experienced with our driver, babysitter, I used to think these are the types of people I deserve to be with,” Burke said. “I didn’t associate s** with intimacy or love, honestly. It was something I did because I felt like I had to in a way just to keep a boyfriend and feel safe and loved. This was clearly horrible. I had no self respect or self love for myself. I now see how wrong this whole thing was.”
Sometimes when we see people on television, they can seem unreal, unhuman or even god-like, but this is all a mirage. Cheryl’s story reminds us that we all have struggles in our lives, regardless of fame or status, may it be related to love or not. It’s inspiring that the Dancing with the Stars pro shared her story given how large her platform is. If she can help just one person out there struggling with abuse or dangerous dating patterns, she’s made a difference in this world.
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