Cheryl Burke couldn’t help but get emotional over her dog Ysabella as she and her ex-husband Matthew Lawrence fight for custody of the pup. Having been voted off of Dancing With the Stars Monday evening with celebrity partner Sam Champion, Burke opened up to Entertainment Tonight about her dog custody fight.
“Oh, I’m gonna cry,” Burke when asked about the drama, which she’s been open about in recent weeks. “It’s just really sad, you know.” She continued, “It sucks because, for me, it’s just cruel. She’s my dog, and it was a gift from my ex, and I hope that this soon, you know, dies down, and he calls it off. Because you’re taking, like, my daughter away from me.”
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Burke revealed in the Oct. 2 episode of her podcast, Burke in the Game, that she and Lawrence would be handling the issue in court unless her ex “calls it off” on his end. “We are going to go to trial – unless he all of a sudden calls it off, but that would happen… and that will happen in January,” Burke shared. “I’m just still really hurt by the whole situation. You know, that’s my dog. Ysabella is my daughter.”
The pro dancer noted that she’s a “dog mom,” and “can’t even imagine” her life without her French bulldog. “I mean, I could just cry right now but, like, couldn’t imagine my life without her,” she explained. Burke and Lawrence previously finalized their divorce last month, ending their three years of marriage officially after Burke filed on Valentine’s Day.
Likewise, Burke’s journey with Champion on Dancing With the Stars came to an end Monday after their paso doble set to “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman didn’t quite strike the right note and landed them in the bottom two. “To be honest, I’ve always asked [Champion] would he ever do the show, and 10 years ago it was a non-negotiable, ‘Absolutely not, this is not happening.’ And I’m just proud that he has stepped out of his comfort zone,” Burke explained of her longtime friend. “I just think that, in general, with every single human being, it’s very important to challenge yourself.”
