Cheryl Burke Wins Custody of Dog in Matthew Lawrence Divorce: '2023, We're Off to a Great Start!'
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Cheryl Burke is celebrating.
The former Dancing with the Stars pro, 38, revealed Monday that she was awarded full custody of her dog Ysabella in her divorce from Matthew Lawrence — and posted a picture with her pup on Instagram to commemorate her good news.
"Officially a FULL TIME dog mom… 2023, we're off to a great start!" Burke wrote alongside the image of her sitting on a bench holding Ysabella at sunset, overlooking the ocean.
RELATED: Cheryl Burke Says Dog Custody Battle with Ex Matthew Lawrence is 'Cruel': 'She's My Dog'
Burke parted ways with Matthew Lawrence, 42, her husband of three years, in early 2022. The divorce was finalized in September, but she was caught up in an ongoing legal battle to determine who would get to keep Ysabella.
In October, the TV star became emotional during an interview while talking about the pup's custody battle. "Oh, I'm gonna cry," she told Entertainment Tonight. "It's just really sad, you know."
Cheryl Burke Instagram
"It sucks because, for me, it's just cruel," she added. "She's my dog, and it was a gift from my ex, and I hope that this soon, you know, dies down, and he calls it off. Because you're taking, like, my daughter away from me."
Burke also addressed the custody battle during an October episode of her podcast, Burke in the Game.
"We are going to go to trial — unless he all of a sudden calls it off, but that would happen… and that will happen in January," Burke said at the time. "I'm just still really hurt by the whole situation. You know, that's my dog. Ysabella is my daughter."
"I'm a dog mom. And that's it. I can't even imagine my life. I mean, I could just cry right now but, like, couldn't imagine my life without her."
RELATED: Cheryl Burke Calls 2022 'The Year That Did Everything It Could to Break Me' After Divorce, DWTS Exit
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On New Year's Eve, the San Francisco native addressed the ups and downs of her stressful year as she told fans on TikTok how momentous it was for her to have made it through a difficult 2022.
"When you see me crying at 11:59pm on NYE don't think it's because I'm sad. It's because i fking MADE IT through the year that did everything it could to try and break me," she wrote on the screen, which featured a video of Burke strutting backstage. "And there were a lot of moments I thought it would but here I AM."
"Ready to move forward to no longer be definition by the past by my past, and SO ready to start the next chapter of my life," Burke's text post continued. "2023, LET'S SHOW'EM HOW IT'S DONE!"
RELATED: Cheryl Burke Hangs with 'Dance Dad' Tom Bergeron After Announcing Her Dancing with the Stars Exit
Cheryl Burke Instagram
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Burke announced her official retirement from DWTS in November — 17 years after she first joined the ABC show.
"I have been crying nonstop," she told PEOPLE at the time. "It has been very emotional. There [are] a lot of emotions and there's lots of excitement, but there's also lots of fear."
She added in her chat with Entertainment Tonight: "What is up to me is my future, and I do know that it is time for me to evolve and see what else there is. Because there is life after Dancing with the Stars, so I've heard. I don't know yet. I'll let you know."
