Cheryl Burke is still on Dancing with the Stars as a professional dancer. She’s been on the show since the second season in 2006, making her the professional to have been on the longest. Last season Cheryl placed third with Peloton Instructor Cody Rigsby as her partner. She has been married to Matthew Lawrence, Joey Lawrence’s brother, since 2019 and they have been together since 2007. She has a dog, a Frenchie, and Matthew has multiple pets due to his unusual hobby. He loves reptiles and has “40 to 50” according to Cheryl, whose only stipulation when they moved in together was that he not keep any snakes. She told this to Kelly Clarkson on her show and here’s a link to that video. I’m going to quote People’s writeup on this:
On… the Kelly Clarkson Show, [Cheryl] Burke revealed that her husband Matthew Lawrence owns “40 to 50” reptiles. Explaining her husband’s “obsession,” Burke told host Kelly Clarkson that the animals live “underneath” the couple’s home.
While Burke said she has accepted her husband’s love for the crawling creatures, she revealed there was one animal not allowed to take up residency at their home.
“No snakes, that was the deal. I said no snakes,” Burke told Clarkson. “So when we actually dated over a decade ago, I knew that I was marrying a guy who loves reptiles.”
As for what animals do live with the couple, Burke shared: “Iguanas that look like alligators.”
Burke also admitted that she has a French bulldog who “stays away from the cages.”
Would this be a dealbreaker for you? Now that I’m in my 40s it would not, however I don’t know how accepting I would have been with it fifteen years ago. The way Cheryl explained it made it sound like Matthew has everything in their basement, but from what I can tell most of the animals are outside in the warmer months. Matthew has videos on his Instagram showing his garden and some of the outdoor habitats for his reptiles. He has iguanas, desert tortoises, a gecko and bearded dragons in enclosures and greenhouses. He also has the garden stocked with plants and vegetables that the different species like to eat. It’s kind of heartwarming, he’s like a kid showing off his reptiles. Also the reason he might not know how many reptiles he has is because he set up his backyard to accommodate native species. There are blue skinks that roam freely and there’s even an alligator lizard living underneath his house! The way he explained made it sound like the lizard is wild and he just lets it live there. I’ve never seen a setup like this and it was fun to watch.
Fast forward to 8:40 to see him “pet” an iguana!
It does look cool, but I bet it stinks, as in literally smells terrible. I house-sat for somebody with an iguana, and the stench whenever I opened the top to feed it was like a slap in the face.
Dealbreaker.
Me too. I’d be terrified that he has created an environment that appeals to native snakes. Just because he doesn’t have snakes in his cages, that doesn’t mean there aren’t snakes.
The video is cute, he is definitely a big kid who’s got the means to create his hobby the way he wants to, if it’s kept outside, not a deal-breaker.
I knew someone who had two sugar gliders, their house stank.
I love that he’s so passionate about his hobby. He’s so knowledgeable and it’s clear that he put a lot of thought and creativity behind it and the animals and plant life are thriving under his care.
Cheryl lucked out with her hubby! 😂
When does it become hoarding or a menagerie rather than ‘pets’?
No problem with lizards, but 40 of any animal is a lot.
Fairly harmless hobby. But they can smell awful.
I think it sounds ok if they have the money and everything is outdoors or in greenhouses. I feel bad for the iguanas people keep in little aquariums, they are wild creatures and need space and be allowed to do lizard things. The lizard garden sounds pretty neat!
I haven’t gotten to the reptile question yet because I’m still blown away by the preliminary fact that Cheryl Burke is married to the actor from Mrs. Doubtfire.
If anybody finds this remotely interesting, y’all need to watch Girls5Eva! Parallels. So funny.
I’d be fine with it as long as they were well kept and didn’t smell, I like people who have unusual hobbies, it can make them really interesting.
I am stressed out thinking about the number of loose crickets in their house.