“Dancing With the Stars” legend Cheryl Burke made a return to the show, months after she fired back at people online who had made “cruel” comments about her weight loss.
The dance pro and two-time Mirrorball champion, who performed on “DWTS” for 26 seasons, served as a judge on the Halloween-themed Oct. 28 episode of the dance competition.
Burke and her fellow judges eliminated the team of Jen Affleck and Jan Ravnik after the show’s Halloween Night. The episode marked Burke’s first appearance on “DWTS” in three years since her final dance and retirement from the competition.
“Honestly, to be invited back, not as a competitor but as someone who can hopefully share my knowledge, my experience, and my love for the craft of ballroom dancing, it is truly such an honor. I don’t take this lightly whatsoever,” Burke said in a clip posted on her Instagram.
Burke, 41, also showed a slimmed-down figure due to weight loss, which she has spoken about publicly.
Here’s what the dancer has said about losing weight.
She’s Committed to Healthy Eating
Burke told US Weekly that for the last five or six years, she has used a healthy meal plan called Z.E.N. that delivers fresh food to her California home. The meals add up to about 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day.
“The food is delicious and it’s portion control,” she said. “I have oatmeal with fruit every morning. I have a snack, pita, chips and hummus. Lunch is normally a salad, and then I will have my dinner. It’s not diet food, it’s real food.”
She also shared that she has a morning fruit shake and has ended a late-night fast food habit she developed because she was an “emotional eater.”
Using the meal service has also helped her avoid fluctuating eating habits.
“It has created more balance in my meals,” she told US Weekly. “I’ve learned that starving myself, then eating one big meal, doesn’t work for my body. I was also not wanting to eat in front of people — that was a trigger for me. Being called out for being overweight, the last thing you want to do is shove food in your mouth in front of people, especially people who are fit and on the show with you.”
She’s No Longer Concerned With Being ‘Skinny Enough’
Burke Exercises Regularly
“I just like to continue to move my body and be active,” she said.
She Has Had to Deal With Criticism Since Losing Weight
“Just because I’ve lost weight aesthetically doesn’t mean I don’t still represent body positivity,” she said. “People, for some reason, think that, ‘Oh, now that she’s lost weight, what type of example is she setting?’”
“These are all assumptions that people have thrown at me, as far as Ozempic, my face,” she continued. “I’ve always had criticism, but what’s shocking is that this is worse than when I gained weight. These are really mean and cruel messages.”
She then once again set the record straight.
“I just want people to know that I’m not sick and I have never gone under the knife for anything,” she said. “I didn’t get a brow lift, I didn’t get a face transplant. This is my body, and this is how I feel best in it today.”