Cheryl Burke on 'Starting Over' as an Adult 'Trauma Survivor' Who's Divorced, Sober and Retired

Cheyrl Burke is opening up about her hardest moments.

The Dancing with the Stars alum shared a bit about her past "trauma" in an emotional Instagram post on Tuesday night. Burke, 38, shared a video of herself with text about her life across the screen.

"I'm 38. I'm a trauma survivor. I'm 5 years sober. I'm recently divorced. I retired from my career last year. I feel like in many ways I'm starting over," she wrote. "While letting go of the past is helpful, new beginnings scare me and are often overwhelming. I try to stay grateful, but sometimes I get stuck in fear."

Burke concluded, "I know life will sort itself out, it always does."

Her caption echoed the point of life's nuances. "Life can be so simple but so complicated at the same time," she wrote with hashtags, "#healingjourney #selflovejourney #gratitudeattitude."

Her DWTS friends chimed in with messages of support, with Peta Murgatroyd writing, "Onwards and upwards babe! You got this ❤️"

Emma Slater encouraged, "You can do anything."

Burke has previously opened up about how childhood trauma impacted her adult relationships, as well as an allegedly abusive high school relationship and about childhood.

In a 2022 episode of the Red Table Talk, she revealed that her teenage boyfriend whipped her with a belt as his parents looked on. "And it wasn't like he was hitting me, he was whipping me," she claimed.

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In 2022, Burke confirmed she was leaving Dancing with the Stars after 26 seasons. The career shift came shortly after Burke and ex-husband Matthew Lawrence divorced in 2022.