Cheryl Burke reveals what we all suspected about Dancing with the Stars couples

Cheryl Burke is talking about her time on Dancing With the Stars and confirming what many fans have suspected about just how close the celebrities and their dance partners get!

Since Dancing With the Stars began, fans have always felt that the bond between the stars and the dancers might go beyond what we see on the dance floor. It’s only natural, as some very good-looking people spend a lot of time together, get very close, and need to gel in order to win.

Cheryl Burke knows all about that as she spent 22 seasons on the show, winning the Mirrorball with Drew Lachey in season 2 and then with Emmett Smith the following season. She finished in the top three in a few other years while handling a variety of partners.

Thus, Burke has seen a lot of the couples on the show and the behind-the-scenes drama and is dishing some of the dirt. In a recent episode of her Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast, Burke admitted to People Magazine's senior editor Dave Quinn that it’s only natural some couples get very close:

"It’s an arranged marriage. And it is black and white. Either love each other or hate each other for real. You’re not like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s cute.' Like, no, no, I either like you or I don’t because you’re constantly [together] eight hours a day, seven days a week. That’s insane. For three months? And you’re vulnerable."

- Burke

That sounds more than a bit interesting, but has Burke ever seen a couple cross the line into true romance?

Pressed by Quinn, Burke admitted that at least one former celebrity contestant confessed he had a crush on his pro partner when both were married. She didn’t name either person, but the suspicions of an affair extended to the star’s family:

"It’s so intimate, and you’re stuck with this person. Like, you better try and make it work at least. You get close in so many ways. These celebrities are so vulnerable because in order to succeed you have to strip it all down. And that alone? I bet you most of these married celebrities have never even done that with their wives."

- Burke

Burke acknowledged the key issue is that this isn’t about love; just connecting over the dancing. It’s why there’s the worry of an affair, as it’s one thing to have a romance on set but another to find out what a person is like away from the lights and feelings of the show. In other words, once the dancing stops, maybe these partners don’t have as much in common as they thought. 

Again, Burke isn’t sharing names but her words do confirm what fans have speculated, which is that all those months sharing a dance studio and stage together can cause some feelings to grow between dancers and stars. We haven’t seen it explode into a full-on scandal, but the temptation is there which is why Burke has one final great word of advice.

“Be single if you do Dancing with Stars," Burke stated. "That’s all I’m saying.”

Dancing With the Stars is streaming on Hulu and Disney+.