Cheryl Burke. Earl Gibson III/Shutterstock
Not ruling it out! Cheryl Burke isn’t looking for love — but she’s keeping an open mind when it comes to finding The One after her divorce from Matthew Lawrence.
“If the right guy comes along so be it but I am not searching,” Burke, 38, told E! News at Elton John’s 2023 Oscars viewing party on Sunday, March 12. “I’m not on a dating app, let’s put it that way.”
The Dancing With the Stars pro shared that while she may not be actively wanting romance, the “characteristics” of what she desires in an eventual partner have changed over the years.
“It’s about somebody who wants to grow and evolve and I think that that never stops. Because, honestly, without it, life can be very stagnant and I’m not about to live that again,” she told the outlet, seemingly referring to her previous relationship with Lawrence. The pair were married for three years before they called it quits for good in February 2022. They finalized their divorce less than a year later.
The Boy Meets World alum, 43, has since moved on with TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. The couple confirmed their romance on New Year’s Eve in December 2022 after previously being spotted spending time together on a beach in Hawaii.
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight earlier this month, Lawrence revealed that he and the singer, 52, hope to start a family together.
“That’s the game plan. That’s what we’re trying to do,” the actor shared. “My life is in complete bloom right now. I get to spend time with an amazing woman like Chilli. I’ve never gotten to be able to experience that kind of relationship before. She’s really, really special.”
The Hot Chick star also got candid about how his marriage to Burke affected his life, adding, “It tested me and I learned so much about me, and I’m so thankful and blessed for the opportunity to grow and that’s what came out of it.”
While Lawrence moves forward with his new relationship, Burke told E! on Sunday that she’s still “healing” from her divorce — something there is no “quick fix” for — and is focused on her ongoing sobriety. (The California native revealed she was two years sober in September 2020 during an episode of the “Lady Gang” podcast.)
“It’s been a year of lots of change, lots of evolving and lots of healing. Like my sobriety, I take every day one day at a time because that’s all I can actually handle,” she explained. “When I think too far in future or when I think too far back in the past it just brings up so much anxiety that I have to try and stay as present as possible. There’s so much to life and life is one big lesson. … I’m a sponge right now and I just love to learn.”
Working on herself is something the professional dancer has been doing for a while. She previously opened up to Us Weekly exclusively in May 2022 about needing to “love” and “believe” in who she is before getting back into dating.
“This is just untraining my brain. I need to not be like, ‘Why do I attract certain men?’ Versus, like, ‘Why do certain men disgust me?’ It’s being proactive in trying to stay present and conscious and know my self-worth. And a lot of that is still in the works,” she shared.