'DWTS' Alum Cheryl Burke Says She Was Blocked From Being 'The Bachelorette'

The latest episode of The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever with Chris Harrison featured Cheryl Burke and Chris Harrison addressing some old Bachelor controversy on the latest episode, with Burke claiming that Christopher "blocked" her from being a part of The Bachelorette. "No. They put that on me," Harrison, 52, corrected Burke, 39, in the Oct. 25 episode. "Yeah, like I have that much power like I have the power to decide who the Bachelor [or] Bachelorette is."

In her account, executives told her, "[YOU] didn't get to do The Bachelorette because Chris Harrison said that you're a sloppy drunk." "No, I'm not kidding … I think they blamed it on you, absolutely," the former DWTS pro continued.

Harrison then admitted to being able to "give my two cents" to the show's creator, Mike Fleiss, and others, but he said, "They, in public, would never give me that kind of power to decide who the Bachelor [or] Bachelorette is." Burke was previously married to Boy Meets World alum Matthew Lawrence in 2019, but the couple divorced. Prior to her marriage, she expressed interest in starring in the show.

"My dating record hasn't been great the past couple of years so if I have a chance to go on [The Bachelorette] I will," she told People in a 2012 interview. "I'm getting old, you know, so it's something of interest to me." "It would be fun to have a pool of guys around you and getting to know someone," she added. "I think if I had people setting me up with different guys, I think it would be easier for me to meet someone to date."

Burke opened up about her dating life following her divorce from Lawrence in a June interview with E! News, saying she's "literally dating [herself]" following the end of her marriage. "I know that sounds so, like, cliché, 'OK whatever.' No, but really, I'm not looking, I'm not interested at the moment," she continued, admitting that she hasn't been "a great picker" of partners in the past. 

"But until I change that pattern – I have to really authentically change the pattern or else I'll continue to pick maybe not the good ones for me." She does not lack love, though, especially for her pup Ysabella. "I'm dating my dog for god's sake," she teased. "They have no opinion, they're great, they're cute and they smell maybe a little bit but that's fine."