‘Dancing With the Stars’ Cheryl Burke Reveals She Had Three Romances With Celebrity Partners

Katie Song April 16, 2024, 3:03 pm

Cheryl Burke in 'Dancing With the Stars' — ABC/Eric McCandless

The longtime ballroom dancer is settling the score herself.

Cheryl Burke has revealed that she had a total of three romances over the course of her 26 seasons on the ABC competition series Dancing With the Stars.

Some of her past dance partners on the show included Drew Lachey, Rob Kardashian, William Levy, Drew Carey, and Ryan Lochte. But Burke is keeping secret exactly who she romance ed, at least for now.

The dancer unveiled the lore regarding her love life on the show on Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes‘ podcast, “Amy & T.J.”

As Burke explained, ballroom dancing is an intimate sport that requires time and vulnerability from both partners for several weeks seven days a week. Especially given the fact that contestants are learning a new skill, it’s a natural – or unnatural – environment for romance to emerge.

“It happens,” said Burke. “It is [love] in that moment, and then you’re like, wait a second. How is the person in the real world? Then all of a sudden the roles change. It’s a weird control thing.”

Though none of the romances were serious – “Lust. It’s not love, right?” said Burke – the dancer did admit to trying to make things work beyond the show with one of her celebrity guests, albeit unsuccessfully.

“One of them basically professed his love to me on Ellen DeGeneres,” she explained.

Burke admitted the contestant in question was NFL player Chad Ochocinco Johnson, her dance partner from Season 10. During their appearance together on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Johnson kissed Burke and showed off the $10,000 ring he bought her, though she denies they were ever engaged. Burke did not disclose the names of her other two show romances.

This is not the first time Burke’s love life has made headlines. Her relationship with the Boy Meets World actor Matthew Lawrence spanned from 2007 to 2022, from their early years of on-and-off dating to their marriage in 2019 followed by a divorce three years later.

Since leaving the Dancing With the Stars in 2022, Burke has launched an iHeartRadio podcast called “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” that takes fans on a behind-the-scenes look at the beloved dance competition. Currently single, the dancer explained she’s comfortable not having a plan for her love life any time soon. “I need to know me first,” she said.