'DWTS' Alum Cheryl Burke Wins Custody of Dog In Court Battle With Ex-Husband Matthew Lawrence
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Cheryl Burke and Matthew Lawrence have finally settled the custody dispute over their French bulldog.
Dogs may be man’s best friend, but in the lawsuit between Cheryl Burke and Matthew Lawrence over custody of their French bulldog Ysabella, the Dancing with the Stars pro prevailed, striking a blow for dogs also being woman’s best friend.
According to court documents, obtained by Us Weekly, on Saturday, Jan. 14, Burke was awarded all ownership rights pertaining to Ysabella. Per the court filing, Lawrence has agreed to give up any documentation or data pertaining to the pup.
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With the exception of the custody of Ysabella, the couple had settled their divorce last fall, at which time Burke said during an October 2022 episode of her Burke in the Game podcast, “I am now officially divorced. This all happened on premiere night of Dancing With the Stars. But it is still not over because we have to go to trial—unless he all of a sudden calls it off—but that will happen in January.”
Related: Dancing with the Stars Pro Cheryl Burke Files For Divorce From Matthew Lawrence
Ysabella had been a gift to Burke from Lawrence during their marriage, which lasted for three years.
“I am still really hurt by the whole situation because that is my dog,” Burke continued. “Ysabella is my daughter; I am a dog mom. I couldn’t even imagine my life without her. I could just cry right now.”
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In an essay that Burke penned exclusively for Us Weekly last October, she wrote, “I have to give credit to my dog Ysabella for keeping me going a lot of the time. Yep, I’m a full-blown ‘dog mom’ and not ashamed to say it! Going through a public divorce, there have been days where I wanted to just stay in bed and hide, and the idea of numbing my emotions with a vodka soda can sound pretty appealing. But Ysabella has tons of energy and gets me outside to go for walks multiple times a day, she loves me to play with her and I honestly can’t imagine life without her by my side 24/7.”
Happily, the courts agreed, and Burke will continue to have Ysabella through the good times—and bad.
“I’ve realized that whenever I am at a point in my life where I have some big emotions to process, the best thing for me to do is to spend some time alone—other than being with [my dog] Ysa of course, but I truly feel like she is a part of me, so she doesn’t count,” Burke wrote on Instagram in March 2022. “If I’m being honest, really feeling my feelings is new to me.”
Related: A Dancing with the Stars Shocker! Cheryl Burke Reveals She Won't Be Returning
Another change for Burke is her departure from Dancing with the Stars, which she announced last October on her podcast.
"It is hard for me to leave," she said. "I always come back, because, I guess, it's really hard to say goodbye to a show and to a family, that I've only known here in Los Angeles. I moved here when I was 21. I'm 38 now."
She also pointed out all the up-and-coming dancers who would be excited to be given an opportunity like DWTS, and how wrong she would feel to take that slot away as someone who is not all-in on staying.
