“Dancing With the Stars” pro Cheryl Burke recently made accusations of abuse against her high school ex-boyfriend, claiming he subjected her to physical assault even while his parents were present.
The 38-year-old professional dancer spoke about the alleged incidents during an episode of Jada Pinkett Smith’s “Red Table Talk.” Burke said she was visibly bruised after her boyfriend repeatedly abused her.
“Not to get too graphic, but in high school, I’ll never forget the person I was with, on and off for four years, whipped me with a belt,” she told Pinkett Smith. “And I had bruises all over my legs. I remember his parents were watching it, didn’t do anything.”
“And it wasn’t like he was hitting me, he was whipping me,” she continued.
Her comments come just after Burke revealed more details about an ongoing custody battle with ex-husband Matthew Lawrence for ownership of their dog, Ysabella.
On Sunday, the “DWTS” star spoke about the trial during an episode of her podcast. She confirmed that even though the divorce was finalized, the custody dispute is dragging on.
“I’m still just really hurt by the whole situation,” Burke said. “It’s still not over because we have to maybe go to trial — well, we are going to go to trial, unless [Lawrence] all of the sudden calls it off.”
“That’s my dog,” she continued. “Ysabella is my daughter — I’m a dog mom, and that’s it. I couldn’t even imagine my life — I mean, I could just cry right now – but I couldn’t imagine my life without her.”
She thanked fans for their support in March of this year shortly after announcing that her marriage was ending.
“I’ve realized that whenever I am at a point in my life where I have some big emotions to process, the best thing for me to do is to spend some time alone – other than being with Ysa of course, but I truly feel like she is a part of me, so she doesn’t count,” Burke wrote at the time. “If I’m being honest, really feeling my feelings is new to me.”
The dance pro said she spent her “entire life up to this point trying to numb” her feelings and said she’s “learning that really going through them is A LOT harder.”
“I guess all of that is to say, to truly experience my feelings, whatever they may be, being alone for a few days has been the best thing for me,” she continued. “I would highly encourage anyone else out there to try it and not feel guilty for needing that space.”
