Dancing with the Stars pro Cheryl Burke has revealed she's been sober for "two years" after deciding to quit alcohol "cold turkey."
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"It was just a decision that I made for myself," Cheryl shared.
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Cheryl said she stopped drinking before tying the knot with actor Matthew Lawrence in 2019.
"It was when Matt and I got engaged and it was during that engagement party that we were just like -- or that I was like, he didn't even know -- I was just like, I was done," Cheryl revealed.
Cheryl said while she's not in the Alcoholics Anonymous program, she hasn't had a drink in two years and plans to keep it that way.
"My father passed away -- and then my dad was an alcoholic -- so either I was gonna crash and burn and check myself into rehab or I was gonna just quit cold turkey," Cheryl said, according to the magazine.
"That's just my personality. It's either black or white."
It therefore couldn't have worked out better that producers chose to pair Cheryl with Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean, 42, for Dancing with the Stars' 29th season.
AJ previously entered rehab multiple times for depression, drug use and alcoholism but has been in recovery despite a relapse in 2018. AJ has said on numerous occasions sobriety is a "daily struggle" for him.
"That's why I really wanted AJ, because I'm like, for him to be maybe partnered with someone who is just, like, still fresh in the scene [or] likes to go out, I was a little worried just as a friend in a way," the dancer explained on the podcast.
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"But then I'm glad we're partnered up together."
Cheryl apparently believes there's a reason why AJ entered her life and vice versa.
"I always believe that people come into your lives because it's either a reflection of who you are or who you want to be or who you're trying not to be," Cheryl told Us in an interview following Monday night's Dancing with the Stars episode.
"But there's always this reason. There's a reason for this energy and energy coming together... AJ is just a reflection of who I am at times, which is someone who tries to control the situation. I'm seeing him and I'm like, 'Oh, my gosh, this is what I do!'"
Cheryl gushed about how AJ has "influenced" her in "a positive way" given he's currently sober and thriving.
"We can talk therapy talk. We go pretty deep to where I almost sometimes feel like the producers, they're probably like, 'These people! Therapy 101!'" Cheryl joked.
"Really, it's great because I like to spend time with people who can really talk to on that deep, deep level."
Cheryl has competed as a pro partner on 23 out of 29 Dancing with the Stars' seasons, and she has won the mirrorball trophy twice.
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AJ, a married father of two young daughters, and Cheryl have landed in the middle of the judges' leaderboard for the past three weeks of competition and survived elimination twice.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
