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Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) pro dancer Cheryl Burke recently announced that she has made the decision to walk away from the hit reality dance competition after 17 years and 26 seasons.
On November 20, the pro dancer took to Instagram to announce her decision to leave DWTS. In the caption to her post, she spoke at length about her journey on DWTS, before saying that the season 31 finale will be her last performance on the show. She also admitted that the decision was "one of the absolute hardest decisions of my life," but said that she felt this was the right choice.
In an interview with PEOPLE, she opened up about her decision and called it "another divorce." She said:
"I have been crying nonstop. It has been very emotional. There [are] a lot of emotions and there's lots of excitement, but there's also lots of fear. At the end of the day, this is actually maybe another divorce in a way that I'm going through in one year."
"There is wear and tear": More on pro dancer Cheryl Burke's decision to leave DWTS
Cheryl made her debut on Season 2 of the dance competition and won the Mirror Ball trophy alongside her partner Drew Lachey. She also won the next installment, this time with retired NFL star Emmitt Smith. The dancer went on to compete till season 19, and then returned for seasons 23, 25, 27, and finally, 31.
In her Instagram post, the DWTS dancer spoke about prioritizing her mental health, focusing on her love for podcasting and venturing into newer and better things in life.
In an interview with E! News, Cheryl revealed that the show's intense schedule had definitely taken a toll on her, but she also wanted to explore newer avenues:
"There is wear and tear...But also, my heart is telling me to see what else is out there. We are human and we evolve. I do. At least I would like to say that I am a work in progress forever."
The DWTS star continued:
"I do know, though, that this is not the end of my career and I want to be able to see what else is out there. And Dancing with the Stars, the schedule is so intense. I've got so many projects that I've been working on."
Cheryl hopes to devote more time to podcasting as well. The star has been busy with her iHeartRadio podcast, Burke In The Game, which launched in May 2022, while she was going through a divorce with Matthew Lawrence.
In an interview with PEOPLE, she reminisced about some of her favorite partners throughout her tenure on the show.
Over the years, Cheryl has danced with 25 partners on DWTS and while she maintained that it was difficult to pick a favorite, she did admit to holding some of them dear to her, including Jack Osbourne, Rob Kardashian, Emmitt Smith, and Sam Champion.
Calling DWTS "the experience of a lifetime," Cheryl captioned her Instagram post:
"Though there aren’t enough words to express my deep gratitude & love to my entire DWTS family I will end with this: thank you for being my rock & foundation for close to two decades during the difficult moments & most of all, thank you for giving ballroom dancing the credit & attention it deserves."
Cheryl also explained that although she was advancing into new phases in her career, dancing will always be a part of her:
"This show has been my 2nd family since I was 21 years old. The cast, crew & fans have seen me through my highest highs & some of my lowest lows, & I honestly don’t know who I would be today without them.....I’m ready to face the uncertainty (though it’s scary as sh**) of what the future holds - I do have a few things up my sleeves though, so don’t worry 😉"
Cheryl is not the first veteran to leave Season 31 of DWTS. Her official announcement comes after last week's episode, when longtime judge Len Goodman announced that he was leaving the show after serving as the head judge for almost each of its seasons since its debut in 2005.
DWTS Season 31 will air its finale episode this week on Monday, November 21, 2022, at 8 pm ET on Disney+.
