It has been said that dancing is the vertical expression of a horizontal desire. Now, former Dancing with the Stars pro Cheryl Burke has confessed that it’s true.
Burke ended her 26-season run on the ABC dance competition show in 2022. She now admits on her DWTS podcast that she had three “showmances” during her time on the series.
“It’s an arranged marriage,” she told guest Dave Quinn. a People senior editor. “And it is black and white. Either love each other or hate each other for real.”
The demanding rehearsal schedule requires the pro and celebrity couples to spend an “insane” amount of time together.
“You’re not like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s cute. Like, no, no, I either like you or I don’t because you’re constantly [together] eight hours a day, seven days a week,” Burke said. “That’s insane. For three months?”
“And you’re vulnerable,” she added.
Burke said a former celebrity contestant confessed that he had a crush on his pro partner. Both were married. Nothing happened between the pair, But Burke said the trail of suspicion that they were having an affair extended to the celebrity’s family.
“It’s so intimate, and you’re stuck with this person,” Burke said. “Like, you better try and make it work at least.”
“You get close in so many ways,” she continued. “These celebrities are so vulnerable because in order to succeed you have to strip it all down. And that alone? I bet you most of these married celebrities have never even done that with their wives.”
“Be single if you do ‘Dancing with Stars.’ That’s all, I’m saying,” Burke said.
Burke recalled that she tried to continue a relationship with one of her partners after the show wrapped, but “it just wasn’t going to happen.”
When asked if she fell in love with any of her partners, Burke said that her showmances were based on “lust.”
“It’s not love, right?” Burke said. “It is in that moment. Then you’re like, ‘Wait a second, how is this person, like in the real world?’”