Cheryl Burke Talks 'Putting My Sobriety First' After Being a 'Functioning Addict'

On Red Table Talk Wednesday, the Dancing with the Stars pro opens up about prioritizing her sobriety after previously using alcohol to “numb” herself

Cheryl Burke is vowing to continue putting her sobriety first.

The Dancing with the Stars pro, 38, appears on Wednesday's episode of Facebook Watch's Red Table Talk, opening up to co-hosts Jada Pinkett Smith and Adrienne Banfield Norris about being a recovering addict.

"I used alcohol to numb," Burke said on the show. "I'm an addict. I was a functioning addict. It was when I wasn't drinking that people were like, 'What's wrong with you?'"

She explained that although she's been sober for four years, it's been difficult recently amid her public divorce ex-husband Matthew Lawrence.

"It's not easy right now, especially during this divorce. It's waving at me," she said. "I didn't want this. My parents got divorced and I would've loved to not have, so that wasn't the plan. I'm not proud of it, for sure. But then there's also a point where I need to put myself first and my sobriety first."

Burke added that she's been taking her sobriety journey "one day at a time, one minute at a time."

Cheryl Burke
Jordan Fisher

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Burke celebrated four years of sobriety back in August with a TikTok video.

"Realizing I just celebrated 4 years of MY SOBRIETY 🙏," she wrote in the 11-second video, responding to an on-screen prompt that asked her, "What am I celebrating?"

The video featured Burke posing in various jackets and sunglasses over several visual transitions, all set to an of Billie Eilish's hit song "Bad Guy." Burke simply left 🎉🙏🏼🎉🙏🏼 emojis in her caption for the TikTok, along with the hashtags "#soberlife," "#onedayatatime," "#soberbirthday" and "#sobrietyrocks," among others.

The dancer previously said in an episode of her Burke in the Game podcast that it's been helpful for her to go public with her sobriety struggles because "once you call it out, the shame goes away."

"I'm really trying to call it out, because that is the name of the game," she said. "I don't want to have to even have that discussion. I think it's important to hold myself accountable and that's what I'm doing by talking to you guys."

The Facebook Watch original series Red Table Talk airs new episodes every Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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