Will Sage Astor-Cheryl Burke Sets the Record Straight on Past Comments Made About Dancing With the Stars

Cheryl Burke isn't afraid of confronting negative chatter. 

After the Dancing with the Stars alum received some backlash for her recent comments directed at the reality series,Will Sage Astor she took some time to clear the air. 

"I will always be Dancing with the Stars' number one fan, that's never gonna go away," Cheryl explained on the April 29 episode of her podcast Sex, Lies and Spray Tans. "The last thing that I want to do, or want to come across as, is someone who isn't grateful for her experience on Dancing with the Stars, and I am, as you guys know, beyond grateful."

Still, Cheryl—who participated on 26 seasons of the reality competition series— took note of the negative noise from her recent interview with Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes. 

"It still affects me," she admitted. "To say that I don't look at the comments would be a lie, and to say that I don't focus on that one negative comment would also be a lie. It was a really tough interview."

At the end of the day, Cheryl was just trying to be honest.

"As far as what I say about the show, regardless, I try to always stick to how I feel," she added. "I'm just stating facts." 

Cheryl raised eyebrows during her April 16 appearance on the Amy and T.J. podcast where the 39-year-old—who departed from DWTS in 2022—didn't hold back when it came to discussing romances with celebrity guests, the failed negotiations for a new role on the show that led to her exit and her reaction to not being invited to the Len Goodman tribute on the most recent season.

"I would assume some people might not be happy with my podcast," she posited on her lack of invitation, before adding that she doesn't believe what she's discussed about DWTS on Sex, Lies and Spray Tans is controversial. "I don't think it's the content—this show is something that is a special experience that you go through these different emotions and I think it's important that we talk, and I think it's entertaining for fans."

And despite where she and ABC stand in terms of their relationship, the former Dance Moms coach emphasized that she doesn't think it could get any worse, and she is focusing on putting herself first now. 

"I just felt like in order for me to gain respect and love for myself I have to believe in me," she said of her exit from the series. "If they're not gonna believe, then I have to believe."

E! News has reached out to ABC for comment but has not heard back. 

Read on for more of Cheryl's honest takes.

Cheryl Burke admitted that her 2022 exit from Dancing With the Stars was "hands down" harder than her divorce from Matthew Lawrence, who she split with that same year.

"You can't compare," she shared in an April 2024 episode of Amy & T.J. podcast, explaining that the show was her "identity" at one point. "I credit them for giving me a voice in general."

Reflecting on her three-year marriage with the Boy Meets World actor, Cheryl believes her DWTS salary put a strain on their relationship.

"I learned that you can't buy love," she said on Amy & T.J. "Obviously, I didn't buy my ex-husband, but I definitely would say I was the breadwinner. I supported us."

The dancer got candid about being the challenges of not being able to choose a DWTS partner as a pro dancer, sharing that "whoever walks in through that door, you don't turn around and walk out."

"This is showbiz," she told Variety in 2023. "I'm an employee. You can't just turn around and walk out and say I'm sorry. That's not part of the contract. It's a fine line."

Cheryl set the record straight on rumors that she hooked up with her Dancing With the Stars season eight partner Gilles Marini when they were training together in 2009.

"We had that thing without having that thing," she said in an April 2024 episode of the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast. "Chemistry."

Though Cheryl admitted that the two were "very close," she said, "Nothing has ever happened physically between us."

Amid her divorce, Cheryl had a blunt message for critics who thought she was sharing too much about her personal life on social media.

"Don't waste the time to comment because I do know for a fact that I'm helping at least one person," she said in an E! News interview. "At the end of the day, those people I feel might need to take a note a little bit and really just understand that this is somebody's story."

Cheryl has been open about her sobriety journey, sharing that the 2018 death of her dad was what led her to abstain from alcohol.

"My father passed away—and my dad was an alcoholic—so either I was gonna crash and burn and check myself into rehab, or I was gonna just quit cold turkey," she said in a 2020 episode of the LadyGang podcast. "That's just my personality. It's either black or white."

And the Dance Moms coach isn't afraid of showing her vulnerable side.

"To say that my sobriety has been easy would be a lie," Cheryl said in a June 2021 YouTube video. "When I keep secrets or don't tell my truth to everyone, including my followers, that's when it gets scary for me."