NEWS'I'm Walking On A Really Tight Rope At The Moment': Cheryl Burke Reveals That She Is Struggling To Stay Sober
Cheryl Burke has revealed that she is struggling to maintain her sobriety amid a difficult time in her life.
The Dancing with The Stars pro — who is coming up on three years of sobriety — spoke about her journey on an episode of her "Pretty Messed Up" podcast with cohosts AJ McLean and Rene Elizondo Jr. After the trio touched on the topic of Britney Spears and her battle to end her conservatorship, they began to discuss addiction and sobriety.
The 37-year-old opened up about her own personal experience, noting that she’s been feeling like drinking “a lot lately”.
Burke explained that during a recent anniversary trip to Hawaii with Matthew Lawrence — who she married in 2019 — a bottle of champagne was sent to their room with hotel staff unaware that she does not drink. After watching her husband, 41, have a few sips, she explained, “Never have I ever been triggered in the last two and a half years until that day.”
The Dance Moms star said that she felt the same way while at a friend's birthday party. The stressful scenario prompted her to frantically call her sister and inform her, “I’m two seconds away [from drinking]."
“I have a lot of personal stuff going on right now at the moment, and so it’s been very … I feel like I’m walking on a really tight rope at the moment," Burke admitted. "Therapy’s not working right now.”
The former model also praised her cohosts for being a solid support system. “I’ve realized … how codependent I am on the two of you in a way because I look forward to these conversations of sobriety, of AJ talking about your ups and downs in life, if it’s been rough at times, and you Rene, being that voice of God,” she said. “For some reason, I was thinking, ‘What if this was all over one day?’ And I had so much anxiety.”
Burke admitted that McLean, 43, and Elizondo Jr., 58, are her “only real sober friends that are in [an AA] program.” She also confessed that when she does not get to spend enough time with them, she “starts to question” her commitment to sobriety.
In a moving moment during the end of the episode, Burke asked Elizondo Jr. to be her sponsor, noting that being held accountable live on air already made her feel better. “Nothing excites me more than somebody that’s willing to do what AJ and I have done," the Mexican dancer said. "I promise you [that when you] start coming and you start hearing these other people’s stories, you get pumped in the same way that a Peloton instructor pumps you up.”
He proceeded to commend her for opening up about feelings publicly, to which Burke replied, "I have to say it, otherwise, I will drink.”
