Down, but certainly not out.
Dancing With the Stars pro Cheryl Burke confirmed her COVID-19 diagnosis on Sept. 26, and now, the two-time Mirror Ball trophy winner is opening up about her initial reaction to the news.
"I had all types of feelings," Burke exclusively revealed during E! News' Daily Pop on Wednesday, Sept. 29. "There was a lot of shame behind it for some reason, disappointed, sad, just hopeless, because you can't really control the situation."
Burke originally took to Instagram to announce her diagnosis: "I have really bad news," Burke said in a video. "I've been feeling progressively worse. The PCR test came back, and it came back positive. And I just feel so bad for [DWTS partner] Cody [Rigsby]—I feel like I'm letting him down. I just feel like s--t, to be quite honest, and it's so overwhelming because it's Sunday, and the show is tomorrow."
On Daily Pop, Burke noted that she "has no answers, really, as to how I got it," but pointed to possible points of exposure.
"All I know is that we've been traveling back and forth from L.A. to New York," she explained, before adding, "Cody has another job, obviously, he's known as a Peloton instructor. We're just doing what we're trying to do to just be able to rehearse every day for the show."
As for her fate on DWTS, Burke hopes to return to the ballroom.
"I would love to, I hope so, because at the end of the day, this is just the beginning of the competition," she continued, adding of Rigsby, "He's so talented, I'm having the best time. We honestly are like best friends already, and I would hate for it just to end, so I'm hoping that I'll be cleared very soon and maybe just go back to the way it was. I don't know, we're taking it day by day."
And, Burke isn't letting Rigsby take a break from dance practice while she's in quarantine. "I'm going to be a dance mom officially and Zooming into those rehearsals, you better believe it!" Burke joked.
Thankfully, the Cheryl Burke Loungewear designer feels "oddly normal" despite her diagnosis. "I'm thankful that I got my vaccinations and I'm fully vaccinated, so that's maybe, definitely, probably the reason I'm not in the hospital, god forbid," she added. "I wanted to be able to share it because I wanted people to understand that it's still out there. Even if you're fully vaccinated, just stay safe and be careful and mask up."
Watch the full interview above to hear how Burke is quarantining separate from husband Matthew Lawrence!
Shop Cheryl Burke loungewear on BaileyBlueClothing.com/CherylBurke.
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays on ABC.