‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Cheryl Burke Reflects on Difficulty With Matthew Lawrence Before Split

Dancing With the Stars pro Cheryl Burke dived deeper into her relationship with estranged husband, Matthew Lawrence. The Blast reports that Burke recently revealed she forced Lawrence go to couples therapy together. However, it wasn’t enough and the pair still decided to end their marriage and announced their divorce in late February.

During a recent episode of her Burke in the Game podcast, the professional dancer said that she and Lawrence attended therapy sessions before they even got engaged. She explained, “I’m a huge advocate for therapy, so I kind of forced him to go. And I think it really helped when it came to communication. And it was consistent throughout from beginning to end.” Even though they had a sound foundation before they walked down the aisle, the couple still wasn’t able to make their relationship work. 

“When you reach the point when you’ve done it all in that sense, and you realize we’ve evolved and maybe not together,” Burke said. “And you still have this issue, like, ‘Okay, well, the communication may have to stop for a little bit because this is too much to handle,’ do you suggest hiring an attorney at that point?” As The Blast noted, this isn’t the first time that Burke has discussed attending couples therapy with her estranged husband. In early May, she appeared on an episode of Tamron Hall, during which she explained that even though they attended therapy together before they got married, they simply grew apart. 

“People evolve, and people grow. And sometimes they grow together, and sometimes, you know, you, unfortunately, grow apart,” the DWTS pro said. It was initially reported in late February that Burke and Lawrence were going their separate ways after three years of marriage. Burke reportedly filed for divorce in Los Angeles and cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split. Since the news broke, the Dance Moms alum has been pretty open about the situation with her fans. 

“I know I have always said I’m an open book with you guys, I do strive to be, and in writing this I’ve realized there really isn’t an easy way to announce that my marriage is ending,” Burke wrote on social media shortly after the news broke. “I hope you can understand that I will not be commenting any further at this time and am asking for understanding and privacy. Thank you all for all the kind words and support you’ve given me.”