Cheryl Burke thanks followers for their support as she opens up about her sobriety journey
"To say this journey has been easy would be a complete lie," she said.
Cheryl Burke is about to mark a new milestone on her sobriety journey.
The former "Dancing With the Stars" pro shared a moving message on Instagram over the weekend in which she candidly spoke about her recovery and what she's learned in the process.
"It's been 5 years since I started my recovery journey," Burke began. "As I enter my 6th year sober, I have found a newfound purpose that I hadn't thought ever existed. The interesting thing about sobriety is that it's not always a perpendicular path of progression & like most things in life it comes with rough patches."
"One thing I've tried to put into practice is forgiveness & less judgment when it comes to my past actions, current feelings or my addiction," she continued. "Instead of judging myself today I can say that I’m actually grateful for how I handled everything that unfolded in front of me as my body, mind & soul were just protecting me."
She added, "I no longer want to hold onto any heavy, resentment or anger towards anyone, especially myself moving forward however, this is a daily practice and some thing that I'll work on for the rest of my life."
Following her divorce from Matthew Lawrence last year, Burke, who previously opened up about quitting drinking in 2018, shared how it affected her sobriety.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" in August 2022, the two-time Mirrorball Trophy winner said that drinking was on her mind "a lot more than normal" at that time.
In an episode of "Red Table Talk" that November, she added that things were "not easy right now, especially during this divorce."
Despite the struggles she's faced, Burke said in her Instagram post over the weekend that she's taking things "one day at a time."
"To say this journey has been easy would be a complete lie," she said. "Have I always wanted to stay sober and never thought about drinking? Of course not. I’ve faced some very difficult years this last one being one of them and that idea of having a drink to disassociate from myself has crossed my mind quite a few times this last year."
"But I know where that takes me, and I know that drinking always made my problems worsen," she continued. "Overall, I have a life and developing relationship with self that I didn't know could exist before. And I owe that to God and to my recovery."
Speaking to her fans and followers, she added, "f you have thought about entering this journey, I strongly suggest you see what it can do for you. Sending you all love. Thank you for sticking by my side these last 5 years."
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