Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Breakups Cheryl Burke Calls 2022 'the Year That Did Everything It Could to Break Me' After Divorce, 'DWTS' Exit As she still processes the fallout of a contentious divorce and her departure from Dancing with the Stars after 26 seasons, Burke expects she'll shed a few tears on New Year's Eve By Kelly Wynne Kelly Wynne Kelly Wynne has been a TV writer at PEOPLE digital since 2021. Her work has been seen in Newsweek, where she acted as a reality TV and true-crime writer, Atwood Magazine and her mental health blog, The Chronically. People Editorial Guidelines Published on December 29, 2022 02:04PM EST Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images Cheryl Burke is letting the tears flow. This New Year's Eve, the former Dancing with the Stars pro may be crying — but not over the things she's lost. Burke, 38, explained via TikTok on Wednesday why she's expecting waterworks as the clock strikes midnight. "When you see me crying at 11:59pm on NYE don't think it's because I'm sad. It's because i fking MADE IT through the year that did everything it could to try and break me," she wrote on the screen, which featured a video of Burke strutting backstage. "And there were a lot of moments I thought it would but here I AM." Burke's text post continued, "Ready to move forward to no longer be definition by the past by my past, and SO ready to start the next chapter of my life. 2023, LET'S SHOW'EM HOW IT'S DONE!" Cheryl Burke Looks Back on 'Blood, Sweat and Tears' in Sweet Note to Former' DWTS' Partners Burke announced her official retirement from DWTS in November — 17 years after she first joined the show. "I have been crying nonstop," she told PEOPLE at the time. "It has been very emotional. There [are] a lot of emotions and there's lots of excitement, but there's also lots of fear." She added in a chat with Entertainment Tonight: "What is up to me is my future, and I do know that it is time for me to evolve and see what else there is. Because there is life after Dancing with the Stars, so I've heard. I don't know yet. I'll let you know." Cheryl Burke Is Focusing on Mental Health Following Her 26-Season Run on DWTS Cheryl Burke/TikTok Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Burke also parted ways with Matthew Lawrence, her husband of three years, earlier this year. The divorce was finalized in September, though the couple are still resolving who will keep their shared dog, Ysabella. Burke has often likened her DWTS exit to a divorce, telling PEOPLE: "At the end of the day, this is actually maybe another divorce in a way that I'm going through in one year." The Boy Meets World alum still has yet to publicly comment on the split.