Cheryl Burke's 'Dancing With the Stars' Days, by the Numbers
It's the end of an era on Dancing With the Stars. Longtime pro dancer Cheryl Burke announced Monday on Good Morning America that the current 19th season will likely be her final foray into the DWTS ballroom.
"As of now, this is probably going to be my last season," Burke told GMA ahead of her new DWTS debut with star partner Antonio Sabato Jr. "I started when I was 20. I'm 30. I want to try new things and just see what's out there," she said.
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It's fair to say the seasoned pro has tried just about everything possible during her impressive Dancing With the Stars career, so who can blame her? Besides, it doesn't get much better than hunky soap star and Calvin Klein underwear model Sabato in the partner department, so way to go out on a high note!
While we can still hope Burke has a change of heart, check out these stats on DWTS's reigning dancing queen.
18: Number of seasons she has competed on
The only DWTS season Burke missed was the very first one, but then again, so did most of the DWTS regulars we've come to know and love. In fact, Louis van Amstel is the only longtime DWTS veteran who turned up on the original miniseason.
1: Number of withdrawals
Celeb withdrawals due to injuries are a common occurrence on DWTS, but Burke's been pretty lucky. The only time she had to bow out was in Season 9, when her partner, Tom DeLay, suffered stress fractures in both feet. The duo quit the competition in the fourth week.
Antonio and Burke talk strategy:
2: Number of mirror ball trophies won
Burke was the first female pro dancer to win a mirrorball trophy, when she won the second season of the show with 98 Degrees alum Drew Lachey. She was also the first pro to win twice and consecutively, when she took home the bling the next season with NFL star Emmitt Smith.
7: Number of times she was in the finale
Burke has made it to finale night a whopping seven times in her DWTS career, with her two winners, runners-up Gilles Marini (Season 8) and Rob Kardashian (Season 13), and a trio of third-place finishers: Cristián de la Fuente, William Levy, and Jack Osbourne (Seasons 6, 14, and 17, respectively).
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1: Number of DWTS romances
Don't quote us on this one, quote Burke! Her flirty relationship with Season 10 partner Chad Ochocinco raised some eyebrows, and the football player upped the ante when he gave her a $10,000 diamond ring as a thank-you for the dance lessons. Burke later told Lifeline Live that yeah, maybe they were an item. Well, sort of: "We had a little bit of a fling," she admitted. "We didn't date. I wouldn't call that dating. We maybe had a little bit of a fling. I wouldn't take it to that word dating."
Too many to count: Number of iconic dances
With nearly 18 seasons under her belt, you'd need a calculator and a lot of time to figure out how many dances Burke choreographed and completed on the show. But one dance stands out as her most iconic. Burke's Season 2 "Save a Horse" freestyle with Lachey was voted by viewers as the best-ever dance on the show.
The new season of Dancing With the Stars kicks off on Monday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
