Cheryl Burke Explains Why She Went Celibate for 3 Years After Matthew Lawrence Divorce
Cheryl Burke is opening up about her decision to say single following her divorce from Matthew Lawrence. While talking to Us Weekly, Burke said taking a route of celibacy the last three years has given the former Dancing With the Stars pro "a lot more self-love and self-respect and self-worth." "I was a serial dater, so I never was ever, ever single. The thought of living alone or being alone was just not an option," the 40-year-old dancer added. "It was just never going to happen in my world, I love that I've grown so much and that I'm doing it consciously and with an intention." While Burke said people act like she's "speaking a different language" when she discusses her decision to abstain from sex, when anyone questions her choice, she reminds herself she is following in a certain singer's footsteps by abstaining. "I am on that Mya train," she said in reference to the 44-year-old Grammy winner who recently announced she has been celibate for seven years. "Go, Mya." Burke doesn't have plans to break her streak either, telling the outlet that she has no interest in pursuing love on dating apps anytime soon. "It will happen when it happens," she said. "When my energy shifts, then I know if it does happen, I'm ready. I'm not in a rush." Burke first revealed her celibacy journey in an August TikTok, where she poked fun at people's confused responses to the news. She elaborated on how she was "choosing [herself] for the first time" by doing so in an Instagram video posted later that same month. "I really believe that it has helped me heal," Burke told her followers before admitting that the process can feel "lonely" at times. She also noted that talking about it is helpful, adding that while it's uncomfortable it helps "take a little of the shame away." Burke alum filed for divorce from Lawrence, 44, in February 2022 after nearly three years of marriage. As for the Boy Meets World alum, he's since moved on with TLC's Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. The pair went public with their romance in late 2022, with Lawrence telling Entertainment Tonight the following year that having children together is part of their "game plan." "I hope. … That's what we're trying to do," he told the outlet at the time. Burke reacted to her ex's comments by "wishing him well," sharing her hopes that he "really truly can" become a father on the Most Dramatic Podcast Ever With Chris Harrison. "He comes from a huge family," she explained before sharing why starting a family with Lawrence wasn't on the table while she was competing on DWTS. "But I always had said, 'As long as I had to shove my body in a dance costume, me thinking about being pregnant probably isn't something I can talk about at the moment.'"
Moderated by Tomas Kauer 
"I was a serial dater, so I never was ever, ever single. The thought of living alone or being alone was just not an option," Burke said of what influenced her decision. "It was just never going to happen in my world, I love that I've grown so much and that I'm doing it consciously and with an intention."
Cheryl Burke is opening up about her decision to say single following her divorce from Matthew Lawrence.
While talking to Us Weekly, Burke said taking a route of celibacy the last three years has given the former Dancing With the Stars pro "a lot more self-love and self-respect and self-worth."
"I was a serial dater, so I never was ever, ever single. The thought of living alone or being alone was just not an option," the 40-year-old dancer added. "It was just never going to happen in my world, I love that I've grown so much and that I'm doing it consciously and with an intention."
While Burke said people act like she's "speaking a different language" when she discusses her decision to abstain from sex, when anyone questions her choice, she reminds herself she is following in a certain singer's footsteps by abstaining.
"I am on that Mya train," she said in reference to the 44-year-old Grammy winner who recently announced she has been celibate for seven years. "Go, Mya."
Burke doesn't have plans to break her streak either, telling the outlet that she has no interest in pursuing love on dating apps anytime soon.
"It will happen when it happens," she said. "When my energy shifts, then I know if it does happen, I'm ready. I'm not in a rush."
Burke first revealed her celibacy journey in an August TikTok, where she poked fun at people's confused responses to the news.
She elaborated on how she was "choosing [herself] for the first time" by doing so in an Instagram video posted later that same month.
"I really believe that it has helped me heal," Burke told her followers before admitting that the process can feel "lonely" at times.
She also noted that talking about it is helpful, adding that while it's uncomfortable it helps "take a little of the shame away."
Burke alum filed for divorce from Lawrence, 44, in February 2022 after nearly three years of marriage.
As for the Boy Meets World alum, he's since moved on with TLC's Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas.
The pair went public with their romance in late 2022, with Lawrence telling Entertainment Tonight the following year that having children together is part of their "game plan."
"I hope. … That's what we're trying to do," he told the outlet at the time.
Burke reacted to her ex's comments by "wishing him well," sharing her hopes that he "really truly can" become a father on the Most Dramatic Podcast Ever With Chris Harrison.
"He comes from a huge family," she explained before sharing why starting a family with Lawrence wasn't on the table while she was competing on DWTS. "But I always had said, 'As long as I had to shove my body in a dance costume, me thinking about being pregnant probably isn't something I can talk about at the moment.'"
