Cheryl Burke and Matthew Lawrence are splitting up after nearly three years of marriage.
The "Dancing With The Stars" pro filed for divorce from Lawrence on Feb. 18 at a Los Angeles courthouse, citing irreconcilable differences, according to Entertainment Tonight. The date of separation was listed as Jan. 7.
Entertainment Weekly, citing court documents, noted that Burke is not seeking spousal support from Lawrence and the couple has a prenuptial agreement in place.
Burke and Lawrence met in 2006, when the actor's brother, Joey Lawrence, appeared on "DWTS." They began dating in 2007 but things ended the following year. Several years later, in 2017, the pair reunited, and in 2018 they were engaged. The couple exchanged vows in May 2019.
Sources speaking with Entertainment Tonight said the divorce was not a surprise as they had been "having issues for a while."
"Cheryl and Matthew have been having issues for a while. Cheryl has been leaning on her close girlfriends and trying to stay busy and go out and spend time with loved ones," one source said.
A second insider told the outlet that the split was "a long time coming," adding that "they have a lot of history together, and while they hoped this time around would be different; it proved otherwise."
Burke and Lawrence have also reportedly been "living separate lives for a couple of months now," the source said.
In 2020, Burke opened up about her past relationships in a video on YouTube in which she revealed that Lawrence was her first partner who wasn't "abusive."
"Even after I graduated high school and into my professional dancing career, I was still into those types of bad-boy relationships, and I continued on the pattern of dating abusive men," she explained in the footage. "I also was abusing myself by drinking too much and just really had no respect for myself, which I'll be talking more about as well in future videos."
In 2007 she allowed a healthier partner into her life — Lawrence — but she was not ready to embrace the connection immediately.
"Looking back, I honestly think that the first relationship I ever had that did not fit this abusive pattern was when my now-husband Matt and I dated the first time around, back in 2007," she explained. "I honestly think at the time when we first dated, I didn't clearly love myself enough to think that I deserved to be with someone who was actually nice to me."
Burke added: "I'm just so grateful and happy that the universe really brought him back into my life when I was ready and had grown into the person I am now because he is the complete opposite of everything bad about my past relationships."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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