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Cheryl Burke is opening up about a tough moment that she says she previously endured in a past relationship.
In a sneak peek at Wednesday’s episode of Red Table Talk, Burke made claims about her first-hand experience with domestic violence.
“Not to get too graphic, but in high school — I’ll never forget, the person I was with on and off for about four years whipped me with a belt,” the Dancing with the Stars pro, 38, shares in the clip first posted by Entertainment Tonight. “And I had bruises all over my legs.”
“I remember his parents were watching it, didn’t do anything,” she continues. “And it wasn’t like he was hitting me, he was whipping me.”
RELATED: Cheryl Burke on How Childhood Trauma Led Her into a ‘Vicious Cycle’ of Unhealthy Relationships
Though Burke’s claim stunned the RTT panel, she has previously been vocal about her past experiences with abuse.
The Dance Moms alum revealed in TLC’s 2015 documentary Breaking the Silence that she endured sexual abuse when she was 5 years old. The molestation occurred at the hands of a neighbor in his 60’s who Burke’s mother asked to watch over her when she was a kindergartener.
“I couldn’t speak up for myself,” she recalled. “It was hard for me to say no. In a weird way, it was like I didn’t want to hurt him.”
Burke later testified against the neighbor after he was caught attempting to molest one of her friends. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Burke recently finalized her divorce from husband Matthew Lawrence. Previously, she said the former couple’s relationship was the only one that “did not fit this abusive pattern” she once experienced.
“He is the complete opposite of everything bad about my past relationships,” she said of Lawrence, 42, in a lengthy YouTube video posted in 2020. “I think when I look back on this time in my life, I could sit here and say that I wish these things had never happened to me, but I look at it now as every part of my story has helped me to become the woman I am today.”
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New episodes of Red Table Talk air Wednesdays at 12 p.m. ET on Facebook Watch.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
