Brooke Burke Discusses Shock ‘DWTS’ Exit With Cheryl Burke & Crush on Derek Hough

Isaac Rouse October 9, 2023

Derek Hough and Brooke Burke crowned champions of Dancing with the Stars — Kelsey McNeal/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

Dancing with the Stars‘ Cheryl Burke recently spoke to Brooke Burke on her Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast to discuss her Season 7 win, subsequent hosting gig, and unceremonious firing from the show, as well as her relationship with former dance partner Derek Hough.

Cheryl asks Brooke if DWTS asked her to come back as a co-host, would she say yes; and Brooke initially says “That’s a really hard question, I’ve asked myself this several times.” When Cheryl said, “No, it’s not, it’s yes or no,” Brooke quickly responded with, “Really? Then no, if it’s only yes or no,” to the shock of Cheryl. “The no is because of the exit, the no is because of style, the no is because of integrity and respect,” Brooke says. When asked what exactly happened, Brooke ultimately says she wasn’t given a reason why she was let go. “I got that news, and then my inner dialogue was like, okay?” She said she was in the middle of building a house when she was let go, and that it blindsided her. “I didn’t feel like I was met with the same respect that I gave the show, so that’s what was frustrating.”

Brooke then talked about her interactions with previous DWTS host Samantha Harris; Brooke said they weren’t going to have her audition to host the show but ultimately did with Tom Bergeron. However, to the surprise of Cheryl, Brooke wanted to have a chemistry test with Bergeron, who believes she got the job solely due to her acting chops and her Season 7 win. “I knew Tom and I had chemistry and that if they saw us on camera, that it was gonna work. I felt like I needed to earn that gig.” She then revealed who else was auditioning at the time, like Wynonna Judd, Mel B, and Maria Menounos.

She also revealed how and why she and her former dance partner, Hough, went to therapy together, revealing they weren’t connecting and having issues where they were in their lives. She explains he was exhausted and recording an album while she was mothering a three-month-old baby. As part of the show, they met a life coach that the show never packaged together and broadcasted, in which she learned a valuable life lesson she carries to this day. “The life coach had said you have to meet each other with honesty.” She also revealed she and Hough weren’t initially there to win the mirror ball trophies until the life coach motivated them to commit. After the meeting, they both vowed to be honest and commit to the competition.

And finally, when asked, “who do you believe falls in love first on DWTS? The celebrity or the pro dancer,” Brooke responded “The celebrity, I was crushing on Derek for sure,” much to Cheryl’s shock. While alluding, had she not been married, she would have been hoping for a love affair. “You are intertwined with someone’s body when you are not a dancer. There is no way I have ever been so connected besides with a lover or a husband than I was with Derek.”

Listen to the entire podcast below.