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Cheryl Burkeis opening up about a tough moment that she says she previously endured in a past relationship.
Ina sneak peekat Wednesday’s episode ofRed Table Talk, Burke made claims about her first-hand experience with domestic violence.
“I remember his parents were watching it, didn’t do anything,” she continues. “And it wasn’t like he was hitting me, he was whipping me.”
Though Burke’s claim stunned theRTTpanel, she has previously been vocal about her past experiences with abuse.
TheDance Momsalum revealed in TLC’s 2015 documentary Breaking the Silence thatshe endured sexual abusewhen she was 5 years old. The molestation occurred at the hands of a neighbor in his 60’s who Burke’s mother asked to watch over her when she was a kindergartener.
“I couldn’t speak up for myself,” she recalled. “It was hard for me to say no. In a weird way, it was like I didn’t want to hurt him.”
Burke later testified against the neighbor after he was caught attempting to molest one of her friends. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Burke recentlyfinalized her divorcefrom husbandMatthew Lawrence. Previously, she said the former couple’s relationship was the only one that “did not fit this abusive pattern” she once experienced.
“He is the complete opposite of everything bad about my past relationships,” she said of Lawrence, 42, ina lengthy YouTube videoposted in 2020. “I think when I look back on this time in my life, I could sit here and say that I wish these things had never happened to me, but I look at it now as every part of my story has helped me to become the woman I am today.”
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New episodes ofRed Table Talkair Wednesdays at 12 p.m. ET onFacebook Watch.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
