Matthew Lawrence Grown Thick Skin After Cheryl Burke’s Divorce

Matthew Lawrence discusses what it was like to deal with the breakdown of a marriage in public following his split from his ex-wife Cheryl Burke.

The actor, 45, talked about his breakup in an interview with Daily Mail published on Thursday, January 1, when he was asked what it’s like to build a relationship with his new friend Chili (real name Rozonda Thomas), following her public divorce. (The former couple married in 2019 before Burke filed for divorce in 2022.)

“That’s one of the interesting things when you choose to be in a field like this is that your private life is in the public eye, so you have to live those things in public,” he said to the media. “And I don’t think that really makes anyone happy, you know?”

Lawrence, who has remained tight-lipped about her split from Burke over the years, added that it was difficult to deal with other people’s versions of what went wrong in her marriage.

“Especially if you can’t really control the narrative or if the narrative isn’t true, you just have to say, ‘Well, I’ve got to get on with my life and get on with living the life I want to live. And the people I care about know what’s real and what’s not,'” she continued. “Also, you have to grow a tough skin and keep going.”

The old one Dancing with the Stars Pro Burke, 41, has been candid about his thoughts on his divorce from Lawrence in the past. Speaking on the “I Do, Part 2” podcast in October 2025, Burke admitted that she was still “grieving” the breakdown of the relationship, which happened around the same time she came out. DWTS after 26 seasons.

“It wasn’t just a divorce from my ex, it was also a divorce Dancing with the stars all in one year, then I left my home where I lived for 16 years and moved to where I am today,” explained Burke. They say if you hit five in one year, you’ll probably go to the nearest mental institution.”

Burke added, “To say that I never cry or I’m still sad sometimes would be a lie too. I think it could be both, you know?

In October 2024, Burke also said in a separate episode of the same podcast that financial issues were taking a toll on their marriage. He wondered aloud if Lawrence felt “stuck” for earning less than he did.

“I knew what I was getting into. I knew what I was getting into financially,” Burke said at the time. “I won’t speak for him. I’m not here to speak badly about him, but I believe there is a gender role.”

He continued: “A man may feel sad if he doesn’t get all the money.”

On his part, i Mrs. Doubtfire star has moved on with Chilli and the couple are now happier than ever since they were first romantically linked in late 2022.

“I wouldn’t have been ready for this kind of relationship in my early 20s. No way,” Lawrence said only. Us Weekly in his relationship with Chilli on December 19 last year.

He added that despite being in his 30s, he may not have been ready for the kind of love he and the TLC singer share. But now, the time was perfect.

“I think I would have reacted the same way, but I don’t know if I’m mature enough or if I have the experience to know what the other side is like, so I can be happy. [it] like I did,” he explained Us.