Cheryl Burke has claimed an abusive ex would whip her with a belt while his parents watched in an emotional new chat on Red Table Talk.
The DWTS pro, 38, alleged her former high school partner who she was with for four years, left her with ‘bruises all over her legs’ after repeatedly hitting her with a belt, even in front of his parents.
In a teaser clip from the full episode due for release on November 2, she told Jada Pinkett Smith: ‘Not to get too graphic, but in high school, I’ll never forget the person I was with, on and off for four years, whipped me with a belt.
Awful: Cheryl Burke has claimed an abusive ex would whip her with a belt while his parents watched in an emotional new chat on Red Table Talk
‘And I had bruises all over my legs. I remember his parents were watching it, didn’t do anything.
‘And it wasn’t like he was hitting me, he was whipping me.’
The Red Table Talk teaser comes after Cheryl said she’s prepared for a potential trial with ex husband Matthew Lawrence over custody of their dog Ysabella.
The star speaking Sunday on her iHeart podcast Burke in the Game, said that she and Lawrence are likely headed back to court over custody of the canine.
‘I’m still just really hurt by the whole situation,’ the San Francisco-born beauty said, adding that that while their divorce is finalized, ‘It’s still not over because we have to maybe go to trial – well, we are going to go to trial, unless [Lawrence] all of the sudden calls it off.’
The Dancing with the Stars professional said that a trial would ‘happen in January.’
Painful memory: The DWTS pro, 38, detailed how her former high school partner who she was with for four years, left her with ‘bruises all over her legs’ after repeatedly hitting her with a belt, even in front of his parents (Cheryl is pictured in high school)
Shock; Host Jada Pinkett Smith was left shocked by the revelation
Emotional: She said: ‘And it wasn’t like he was hitting me, he was whipping me’
‘That’s my dog,’ Burke said. ‘Ysabella is my daughter – I’m a dog mom, and that’s it. I couldn’t even imagine my life – I mean, I could just cry right now – but I couldn’t imagine my life without her.’
On this season of DWTS, Burke is paired up with Good Morning America weatherman Sam Champion. She said that she hopes to have a relationship as thriving as his is with his husband Rubem Robierb.
‘There’s so much love,’ Burke said. ‘No expectations from either side. And I just want to be able to, hopefully one day, find someone like that as well.
‘It has been such a short yet long journey. I have definitely been more awake during the season, meaning I am a lot more present I think than I’ve ever been. I am trying to just surrender to the good, bad, and ugly. It’s been really scary, but it’s been eye-opening, and I am now officially divorced.’
Last month, Burke and The Mrs. Doubtfire actor reached an accord to split their two properties and waive spousal support on both sides, as denoted in their premarital agreement.
Burke initially filed for the split February 18, saying the couple had separated January 7.
Lawrence and Burke first met in 2006 when his brother Joey Lawrence, 46, participated on the ABC ballroom competition. They dated for a year and broke up before rekindling the relationship in 2017, announcing their engagement in 2018 and marrying in May of 2019 in San Diego at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar.
Burke on February 24 took to Instagram with a statement on the end of the marriage.
The latest: The Red Table Talk teaser comes after Cheryl said she’s prepared for a potential trial with ex husband Matthew Lawrence over custody of their dog Ysabella
‘I know I have always said that I’m an open book with you guys, I do strive to be, and in writing this I’ve realized there isn’t really an easy way to announce that my marriage is ending,’ she said. ‘I hope you can understand that I will not be commenting any further at this time and am asking for understanding and privacy. Thank you all for all the kind words & support you’ve given me – love you all.’
Burke opened up about her state of mind amid the split in a March 6 statement on the social media site.
‘I’ve realized that whenever I am at a point in my life where I have some big emotions to process, the best thing for me to do is to spend some time alone – other than being with [my dog] Ysa of course, but I truly feel like she is a part of me, so she doesn’t count,’ Burke said. ‘If I’m being honest, really feeling my feelings is new to me.’
Burke said she’s spent her ‘entire life up to this point trying to numb’ her feelings, and she’s ‘learning that really going through them is A LOT harder.’
She added: ‘I guess all of that is to say, to truly experience my feelings, whatever they may be, being alone for a few days has been the best thing for me. I would highly encourage anyone else out there to try it and not feel guilty for needing that space.’
Cheryl previously credited Lawrence with being the ‘exact opposite’ of every guy she had dated before, as he broke the patterns she was used to getting herself into when it came to dating.
‘Looking back, I honestly think that the first relationship I ever had that did not fit this abusive pattern was when my now-husband, Matt, and I dated the first time around back in 2007,’ Burke said in a YouTube clip uploaded in 2020.
‘I honestly think at the time when we first dated, I didn’t clearly love myself enough to think that I deserved to be with someone who was actually nice to me.’
The Mrs. Doubtfire actor and Burke first met in 2006 and dated for a year; they were snapped in 2007