Burke said when she began dating Lawrence again in 2017, he wasn’t working “as much,” but she was fully aware of what she “was getting into financially”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(734x279:736x281):format(webp)/matthew-lawrence-cheryl-burke-69d375cb103f44eaa567a8ac55461145.jpg)
Cheryl Burke is opening up about what she believes went wrong in her marriage to Matthew Lawrence.
On the Wednesday, Oct. 23 episode of the I Do, Part 2 podcast, Burke — who was married to Lawrence, 44, for nearly three years before filing for divorce in February 2022 — said she believes their breakup resulted from “bad timing” in their personal and professional lives.
The Dancing with the Stars alum, 40, recalled how they first met around 2006 when the actor’s older brother, Joey, was a contestant on season 3 of the reality show. She noted that at the time, she was “very new” to the entertainment industry and that he had already been in it since childhood.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(895x323:897x325):format(webp)/cheryl-burke-aj-mclean-dwts-110920_2701-fd5fbd0ede2345129296f2ff9beea350.jpg)
“I was just at the height of the success of Dancing with the Stars,” said Burke. “So we were on tour. We did two seasons a year, two tours a year. So I was just like working all around the clock, barely had a day off.”
While they called things off a year after dating, they later reconnected in 2017 and got married — even though Burke said Lawrence wasn’t working “as much” at the time.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(449x269:451x271):format(webp)/matthew-lawrence-cheryl-burke-1-ab9a68f4759246f0a95ace44843d6f47.jpg)
“I kind of knew what I was getting into. That’s just my personality. I am never going to not make money. That comes from my mother, who is a rags-to-riches story. I’ve seen her hustle and was raised with her hustle. That’s who I am, ultimately,” said Burke. “I am actually proud of that. There’s no shame with that, for sure.”
The Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast host said she was fully aware of what she “was getting into financially” and believes it “did take a toll” on Lawrence.
“I’m not going to speak for him,” she said. “I’m not here to bad mouth and whatsoever. But I believe that there is this gender role where a man may feel a little emasculated when he doesn’t make the majority of the money, and I think that may have taken a toll.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Matthew-Lawrence-90s-con-52-09132024-98d2dd0f2d4849d8bec82be0c8a06145.jpg)
In a March 2023 conversation with Entertainment Tonight, the Boy Meets World alum said their divorce “tested” him. “I learned so much about myself, and I’m so thankful and blessed for the opportunity to grow and that’s what came out of it,” he said at the time.
Since their split, Lawrence has found love with Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. The two went public with their romance in January 2023, after becoming involved romantically just ahead of Thanksgiving 2022.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Cheryl-Burke-041624-91cc6d7ffb49449fbec3218512a5df74.jpg)
Burke confirmed on the I Do, Part 2 podcast that she remains single.
“As of today, I am single and celibate for the last three years, and I have definitely found power in that,” she said.