Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Cheryl Burke on the Money Trail of "Dancing with the Stars"

Episode Date: January 20, 2024

Originally aired 03.03.23 After 26 (!) seasons, Cheryl Burke announced in November that she would be retiring from Dancing with the Stars. If you're asking "what is she doing next?" You might be asking the wrong question. In this conversation, she explains why. Plus, Nicole asks Cheryl to how much DWTS pros and celebs get paid and spoiler alert: the rumored numbers are way, way off. Want the kiddos in your life to become money masters? Check out Greenlight, the best money app and debit card for families (and get one month free!): http://greenlight.com/moneyrehab Investors: want to get a 1% bonus on your investments? Check out our sweet deal with Robinhood at http://robinhood.com/mnn  Is mental health a resolution for 2024? Get 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp at: http://betterhelp.com/moneyrehab  Want one-on-one money coaching from Nicole? Book a meeting with her here: intro.co/moneynewsnetwork 

One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a Chime checking account with features like no maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN. When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that

I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN. Chime. Feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A. Members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly limits. Terms and conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details.

I love hosting on Airbnb. It's a great way to bring in some extra cash, but I totally get it that it might sound overwhelming to start or even too complicated if, say, you want to put your summer home in Maine on Airbnb, but you live full time in San Francisco and you can't go to Maine every time you need to change sheets for your guests or something like that. If thoughts like these have been holding you back, I have great news for you. Airbnb has launched a co-host network, which is a network of high quality local co-hosts with Airbnb experience that can take care of your home and your guests. Co-hosts can do what you don't have time for, like managing your

reservations, messaging your guests, giving support at the property, or even create your listing for you. I always want to line up a reservation for my house when I'm traveling for work, but sometimes I just don't get around to it because getting ready to travel always feels like a scramble, so I don't end up making time to make my house look guest-friendly. I guess that's the best way to put it. But I'm matching with a co-host so I can still make that extra cash while also making it easy on myself. Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. According to the BBC, most dancers retire between the ages of 35 and 40. So just to do that quick math for you, that's 30 years shorter than the average lifespan of the American career.

As a financial person, I have a lot of questions here. Like, can you support yourself on a career with an uber short lifespan? Today, I'm talking this out with Cheryl Burke, Dancing with the Stars alum who just announced her departure from the show in November. Plus, you know me, I had to follow the money trail of Dancing with the Stars. And let me tell you, I was blown away by the insider info here especially how much those costumes cost listen to this cheryl burke welcome to money rehab thank you so good it's so good to see you in person i only know you via zoom okay so you left dancing with the stars just recently after 500 years 500 000 seasons yes what's the rent song 525 like that's counting like how many 26 seasons i've done a total of 26 seasons over a span of 17 years oh my god

and was your body just done ready to retire but you know it wasn't i could have probably danced another few seasons but it was more um mentally and growth you know, it wasn't, I could have probably danced another few seasons, but it was more, um, mentally and growth. You know, I think I was, I've been, and I still am in a period of change and evolving as a human being. And for me, it's like growth doesn't come from comfort zones, you know, whatsoever. So though it was scary as, I don't know if you can swear, but as shit, it was, and I'm still waiting like in a way it's like, well, sometimes I still teeter totter back and I'm like, did I, did I make even the right decision? Or, um, am I just needing to be patient and just let it, you know, let it

be because it's just never comfortable. You know, I don't remember the last time I made a decision like this was actually moving to LA to do the show and it was just as uncomfortable. I also know that there's so many dancers that want my job, you know, and I'm like, I've done this, like, there's nothing else for me to prove, you know, and I would have hoped to maybe have grown within the family. But you know, if, if they don't necessarily see me as another role as a part of the brand, Dancing with the Stars, that's totally fine. But I need to move forward then. So you said you were teetering back and forth like if you made the right decision. You're not going to pull out Tom Brady, are you? Hell no. Not going back.

No, no, no. Is there any celebrity you would go back for? No. Brad Pitt. You heard it here first. He would never do it though. He would never do it. He's the only one only one yeah who is your favorite to work with Emmett Smith was definitely one of my favorites he we went back in season three during the younger days of my Dancing with the Stars career and then um

AJ McLean Backstreet Boys he was a good one yeah but what's so great about Dancing with the Stars is that it's created so much wealth for dancers yeah in a space that's not typically associated with making a lot of money oh for sure you do it for the passion and the art and the all the good touchy-feely warm fuzzy things which is great then you're like now what because a dancer's life is not very long I should have retired a long time ago because especially as a competitor you don't really make money as a competitor you make money because of the status of, because of where you are in the world or where you're ranked. And then from there you get students, you get to do like showcases, but still you don't make that much money in the competitive world. It's honestly for only, and I say this, I'm not exaggerating. It's only for the love of dance you spend money more than

you make money so with all these parents who have their kids in ballroom only i'm only speaking ballroom that genre ballroom dancing competitive ballroom dancing you they work their asses off to support their kid for you to then just win a plastic trophy like there's really nothing there's no money not even as a professional competitor so those cost like all this stuff is expensive how much is all that well i mean nowadays it's probably i i don't even know it's probably at least 15 to 20 000 for a costume but like wait what sponsored because it's swarovski rhinestones oh yeah stop it wait and it's all made by hand one costume probably depending on like those were the costumes you were wearing oh yeah for 15 grand girl i don't

know well it's not like you ever go to the marriott and look at the dance competition there that's where we have most of them but yeah yeah easily because those are real swarovski rhinestones especially nowadays yeah sorry continue no because but they, like, one by one. Damn. Okay. I didn't know. Yeah. The wardrobe team does not get enough props.

They whip this stuff up in three days. It's like a turnaround of three days because it's a live show. Okay. Okay. So all this stuff is expensive. Costumes are expensive. Lessons are expensive. Lessons, travel, hotel, coaching, rental.

You know, unless you're, again, sponsored and you're like top seven of the world. But it is fun to follow the money trail. So will you help me do that? Yeah. So the first thing I saw in my research. Oh, no. Is that celebrity guests make a lot more than the pros on the show. Is that right?

Not always. And everything on the Internet that I've seen is so wrong. Every single article. But we also are, it's not favored nations anymore as pro dancers. What does that mean? Favored nations means that we all get paid the same, equal. But we did back in the day, me and the dancers, I can only speak on behalf of myself, obviously, and then maybe the dancers, but no more. Because like I've been on for 25 seasons and then joe schmoe who comes on for a season there's no way in hell you're gonna get paid to save as i am you shouldn't right you put

in your time you wore a lot of swarovski crystal outfits yeah um well what it says is that for this what i found really interesting is that the more weeks you're on the more you get paid that is true okay yeah so there's this like incentive to do well. For the celebs, especially. Some dancers though, don't. You get a guarantee sometimes. No matter how many. Some of them. So I don't, I can only speak for myself. I got a guarantee. Okay. So if you were with a partner that wasn't great. I still would get a guarantee. Perfect. Not necessarily for the whole season though. Okay. But for most of it. So if you won or if you were eliminated, same, same.

No, if you win, it would be a lot more. How does that work? Because it wasn't for, so the amount wasn't necessarily from week one of the training period, which is three weeks before we go live till week 10 or 11, depending on how long the show is. Right. So I'd get up, I'd get paid up till a certain week. And then if I continued, then I'd get more and more and more until hopefully I

make the finale. But if I got eliminated first, I would still get paid up till that certain week. Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. But it sounds like you're seriously incentivized, right? To stay on the show as long as possible. Does that sound like a healthy system to you? That sounds really stressful to me. What do you mean? Like if you're going to get paid more, the longer you're on, you know, does that make you crazy? Crazier? With my situation, I was very blessed in the fact that I always got asked back. So it wasn't a one and done. And not every dancer can say that, you know. What the internet says is that the starting salary for a pro is $1,600 an episode. No. It's way higher, hopefully. I mean, what if I were to say way lower? Can you imagine? No,

it's not that low. It's higher. Okay. So it said, allegedly, that if you're a pro who's been on for a while, you could get like five grand an episode. That is ridiculous. It's higher. That's all I'm going to say. Like a lot higher. That is ridiculous. That number. This is why I know what you're reading. It is so off. It's like, I can't even, I'm laughing out loud every time I see something like that or when other articles write about that article. So how did you determine your partner? If you, if you're more incentivized,ized generally speaking if you're generally making more money right the longer you stay on are you more like I want a good partner but we all want that but I want more of a part I don't we don't pick partners I wish we did but no we actually have a

casting director and then they all meet because they now know like for the ones that have been on the dancers that have been on the longest like like you understand, like I was known as their task master. Like I was known as this person who probably doesn't know who the celebrity is and who doesn't care if you're a celebrity. So if you come into this dance studio and you say you want to win, then let's no bullshit. So this is who I am anyway, right? So they know not to put like this sensitive, vulnerable man with me because I would tear it apart. So I've always had sports players, not all, but most of them. And when it comes to dance

ability, I'd much rather have like Jack Osborne and Rob Kardashian were two of my favorite dance partners because they came into the show with zero dance experience, but they were so genuine and authentic to who they were and they weren't scared to be vulnerable. So as a celebrity going into the show, you, if you are too insecure to be vulnerable, you should never sign up for Dancing with the Stars, period, end of discussion. You need to be able to trust somebody who you may not have never met, but like we are there for you, you know, we're there for the celebrities. And when you don't trust them, then it's a nightmare. Because I think like, you know,

the athletes look really fit or are really fit, but that doesn't translate into dancing. No, it's mentally fit. It's who's mentally the fittest. It's nothing to do with physical. It's 90 seconds. It's that. It's 60 seconds.

Like you can fucking do it for 60 seconds. Maybe comedy is in the future you're hilarious I could now that would be like me dancing ass naked I couldn't do it no I could not do stand-up and what happens if you're injured like do you not get paid or anything if you're injured so I I uh I wouldn't like to say I broke my partner's arm. I've broken a lot of my dance partners before. Like one completely fractured his foot. Another one's arm, like something snapped on live TV. And we continued, but we made the final because of it.

So it depends on how injured you get. Now, Misty May, I forgot her last name, but she's a soccer player. She played for the US team. She, her Achilles popped live during rehearsal. So she had to bow out completely. But like the ones that can still have, like if you break one arm, don't worry,

you got another arm. Like we can make it happen. If you can actually get through it. That's bananas to me. This is why God made two. God made two. Like Noah's Ark of the body. Two arms, two arms two legs if one goes wrong you got another one we're good i'm dead this is fucking survivor i'm telling you i've always compared dancing with

the stars in a good way and bad but to survivor okay this is a really nerdy question do you have special insurance i have insured my legs lloyds of london yes absolutely how much are they insured for a lot yeah great couple million great i'd make more money if someone ran me over just now than if i were to sometimes i'd say this is a joke i'm like that's all right it's fine go ahead run me over oh my god and you've always had that i've had it since I heard, this was like season three or four. I remember Nancy O'Dell saying that she insured her legs and I was like, yes, bitch. If your legs are insured for just sitting beautiful there underneath this desk, then my legs have to be insured too. I love this. I mean like Yo-Yo Ma's fingers.

I don't think everyone does this, but I mean, you pay. It's not cheap. No. Yeah. The premiums are crazy. Yeah. Because it's like exotic. It's not like you go to Geico and you're like, yo, I want car insurance and leg insurance. No.

No. Definitely not. And absolutely, like you need health insurance first. Like this is just like if you have some extra saved up. I love this. I'm so happy you did this. But this is my life. Yes.

Can you imagine? See, I didn't have a normal childhood because my mom was very much a tiger and she still is a tiger mom. And so it was only dance rehearsal and A's or B's in school. Like it was like there was no other. Or dancing when my mom and I would fight. It'd be me dancing in the middle of Union Square. I'm from the Bay Area.

So and making money that way. Tell me more about that. Oh, so my mom and I, I remember got in a fight over a period of time. She goes, you're not, I'm not paying for your flights to Blackpool, England, which is equivalent to the Olympics for the ballroom world. So we would always travel there every year, like May, end of May. And I said, okay, fine. And so so I had to me and my partner we were in those adidas like ripaway yes with somebody holding a cardboard like piece and saying help these dancers get to England and we and someone was holding a boombox I'm not kidding this was like back in the 90s but still we made two that around two thousand dollars just from like tips from people yeah I mean we were dancing our hearts and souls out but yeah maybe sure I was like 13 years old or 14 and

you went bye mom don't need your money mom and was that the first time where you were like yeah I can make money dancing no no because it was instilled in my brain that I was never gonna make money because my mom's a businesswoman you know so she came from like rags to riches. Long story short, she grew up in poverty in the Philippines. And then she had this idea. She was a nurse, as not all but most Filipino women are. And she thought of developing the very first nursing agency. She really made a huge name for herself.

And, you know, she also instilled in my brain, like, how can you make money at, this was before Dancing with the Stars or before any reality show, but how do you make money when it, when dancing requires you and you don't have employees working for you? You can't make money in your sleep when you're dancing. She's asking how do you scale your business? Well, sure. Because if you're in the business, if your body is in the business. No, and she's right, by the way. And I'm not even saying, well, I told you so, mom. But like, yes, absolutely. Like who knew that this was ever going to happen?

Dancers were known to be backup dancers, you know? Yeah. I mean, or not make a lot of money. Like I start, listen, okay. I went to performing arts high school and was a dance major. You look like a dancer. Talk about a million and a half years ago. You're a ballerina.

And I was like, but I need to make money. Yes. And I was like, I can't make money. And so I'm sure your mom didn't want you to dance because you weren't going to make money or she assumed you weren't going to make money. Yeah, for sure. Because it was like, unless you are, well, at that time it was like, no, I mean, Jennifer Lopez, but like she had just like, she's a triple threat. I don't, I definitely don't sing. Don't want to hear that. There was no, there was nothing to compare what it is now to back then. Look at you defying those odds.

I mean, I could have been a part of In Living Color, but that was before my time. I could have been a fly girl. Hold on to your wallets. Money Rehab will be right back. One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a Chime checking account with

features like no maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN. When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN. Chime. Feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bank Corp. Bank NA or

Stride Bank NA. Members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly limits. Terms and conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details. I love hosting on Airbnb. It's a great way to bring in some extra cash.

But I totally get it that it might sound overwhelming to start or even too complicated if, say, you want to put your summer home in Maine on Airbnb, but you live full time in San Francisco and you can't go to Maine every time you need to change sheets for your guests or something like that. If thoughts like these have been holding you back, I have great news for you. Airbnb has launched a co-host network, which is a network of high quality local co-hosts with Airbnb experience that can take care of your home and your guests. Co-hosts can do what you don't have time for, like managing your reservations,

messaging your guests, giving support at the property, or even create your listing for you. I always want to line up a reservation for my house when I'm traveling for work, but sometimes I just don't get around to it because getting ready to travel always feels like a scramble, so I don't end up making time to make my house look guest friendly. I guess that's the best way to put it. But I'm matching with a co-host so I can still make that extra cash while also making it easy on myself. Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. And now for some more money rehab. So you're in this transition period. How does that feel? And I think a lot of listeners can relate to that, right? You grew up in this career, literally,

and now you're potentially going to other careers or trying new verticals. Yeah. It's not easy because I'm very much branded by Dancing with the Stars. Like, oh, it's that dancer. Dance, monkey, dance. It's like, no. However, I know a lot of people who are in this business who just refuse to try and find another job or another title, or even if they're like a child actor, it's very rare that they switch careers, even if they're not working. Right. But you did. It sounds like what? Trying. It's not, Right. But you did. It sounds like what is... I'm trying. It's not easy. It's definitely something that I hope one day we can switch the mentality and just celebrate more of the times that we have off. I always have guilt or

shame for just like, maybe I just don't know what to answer when you ask me what's next. I actually don't know. But you can own it and be in that power. It sounds like you've done the work around it. But amen for that. It sounds like you want to put your busy badge of honor down. Yeah, because it's not necessarily busy. Like, it's not productive.

Like, busy doesn't mean productive. And I'm really trying to learn that. That's hard for me to swallow. Where do you think the shame comes from? Is it that you're always pushed to achieve? Was it the tiger mom? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. But it's not my mom pushing it on me. It's just seeing her hustle and not everyone's hustle is going to be the same or valued the same. And again, like we talked about earlier before this podcast, it was, it's really about filling yourself up from the inside out and not from the outside in. And it's so much easier said than done.

And I'm by no means even close to perfecting it because I still find pleasure or I think I find pleasure in other things now that I'm sober, like shopping or like Amazon. But then, you know, it's interesting because I've also noticed, and this is a lot of work, meaning like having to observe my feelings instead of feeling brainwashed by my own thoughts you know because it's not real most of our thoughts I mean we do search for external solutions to internal problems and but we all it's like it doesn't make you feel better for a couple steps back it doesn't but it feels like a quick fix at the time yeah yeah I mean I think that sometimes even when you do this work, you have

to remember that it's chaos and balance have to coexist because sometimes when there's chaos, you're like, Oh, I'll get back to that. Like, yeah. Self-discovery self-help stuff later after this, but they're always going to exist together. It's always going to be another project. It's always going to be another thing. It's interesting. It's interesting you say that. Cause I think I am addicted to fight, flight, or freeze because that's what I know. Yeah. So like that's my survival mechanism. But that was when I really needed to do that, when I was being sexually abused when I was

younger. But now to live like this is another way of living like with a very stressful mindset. But yet we still celebrate it in a weird way. And I always say, oh, I'm an adrenaline junkie, which is just a lazy answer. I think for me, it's more like, I don't know, though I, there are moments of peace and ease. And cause that's all, that's just for me, that's the ultimate, right? To feel peace, to feel like I'm safe is a big thing. And so I used to relate to that feeling as being like bored and stagnant. And it's actually quite the opposite. I always wanted to, and this is why I think I had such bad relationships

was because I, it was the rollercoaster ride for me. It was kind of like, that is what, oh, well, this is what love is. Cause it's familiar. Cause like that chaos that chaos right and you see it also in the movies like you see it on television and that's not a real definition of love the notebook isn't real breaking news hello you heard it here first yeah you can be addicted to the you know extreme highs and lows until you know you say that you know you're an adrenaline junkie or you're something else you can you it sounds like you're evolving what that definition of yourself is. Yeah. And that was just my way of numbing, too.

It's like always chasing. Yeah. I mean, I prescribe not drugs or alcohol, but work to hide from a chronically abusive and chaotic upbringing. I saw your post about Twitch. Do you feel like in the dance community, this is a silent struggle? I don't think it's the dance community. I think it's a community we are in as a whole. I think that people are suffering in silence. Have you ever

met him? No. So he was this light, you know, and I'm sure he's even brighter now, you know, but like everybody felt so connected and it was, I could tell, I just, you know, I wasn't very close to Twitch, but I did shoot a pilot with him a couple of years ago. And he's the type of, like, from what I observed as well, when we had mutual friends, like people go to him for just to talk it out, you know? And I guess when this happened, I thought to myself, did he ever have somebody to talk to other than people that were his friends or family? Like I always say, maybe therapy isn't like in-person therapy isn't always for everybody. And it's honestly only for people who can afford it and it's not attainable, but there's so many resources out there. And it's not just about a one-on-one session with your therapist. Like the amount

of online courses I've been doing does not cost a lot of money. If anything, it's free or they offer scholarship and you can totally do it. It's just about setting 15 to 20 minutes aside for yourself every single day. Because like really when you, when you, and I think a lot of people are like this, including myself, like sometimes you just, you don't put yourself first. It's like the last, if you have time, you put yourself as a priority and it's the op, it has to be the opposite and it's not selfish. You know? and I think that maybe because Twitch was so loving and he exuded such beautiful light, you know, and, you know, he wasn't always happy, but for the most part, he wasn't, I never felt heavy energy from him ever. It just makes you wonder and it makes you really, it makes me so sad

though. I didn't have like, I were not, like I said, we weren't really close, but don't be, you know, you have no idea what people are going through. You just don't. And so when I get comments on my social media that I overshare, what I'm doing is really, it also helps other people because I could easily listen to that or those comments, the oversharing part. And I could easily convince myself that I am oversharing and that nothing is kept for myself. But I know because I see it, that people, me talking about being molested, having shame, being open with my experiences, because by no means I'm not a professional therapist, right? Like I'm not certified and I don't plan on being one,

but I do have experience. And I wish there was somebody, when I was younger going through this, I wish there was someone to look up to. We end the shows with a tip you can take straight to the bank. You've taught yourself so much about business and finance. What would you tell others that you wish you knew earlier?

Invest in yourself and just know that the best money is when you make money in your sleep. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Lavoie. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at moneynewsnetwork.com to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at moneynews and TikTok at moneynewsnetwork for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you. Thank you for listening and for

investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.