The former child stars and their mothers of “Dance Moms” have rehashed their difficult times on the hit Lifetime reality show 13 years after its premiere.
The former members of the Abby Lee Dance Company junior elite team discussed the stress of competing against one another, being in the public eye, their “trauma bond” over their harsh training, and their tenuous relationship with Abby Lee Miller — who cast members said they wouldn’t participate if she attended.
“Dance Moms: The Reunion” featured Chloe Lukasiak, 22; JoJo Siwa, 20; Paige Hyland, 23; Brooke Hyland, 26; Kendall Vertes, 21; and Kalani Hilliker, 23; alongside their mothers, Jessalyn Siwa, Kelly Hyland, Jill Vertes and Kira Girard.
Notably missing were Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler and their mother Melissa Gisoni, along with Nia Sioux Frazier and her mother, Dr. Holly Frazier. Christi Lukasiak was not featured but made a digital appearance to bash Melissa in traditional Christi fashion.
“Dance Moms” ran until 2019, but the original cast was only featured until 2016. The reunion kicked off Christi’s series “Dance Moms: Epic Showdowns,” which will further unpack the most iconic fights, pyramid sessions and arrests on the hit show.
Here’s the biggest bombshells from “Dance Moms: The Reunion.”
JoJo and Kendall bash original cast absences at the reunion
Several cast members ripped The Zieglers and Fraziers for not coming to the reunion because “Dance Moms” gave them their start in the entertainment industry.
“They’re not even here. Why are they still trying to make headlines with it?” Kendall said. “Don’t talk about ‘Dance Moms’ if you don’t want to be a part of it.
“It was literally the stepping stone into who we are today. We would not be here without ‘Dance Moms’.”
Nia took to TikTok to tell her fans that she “just really didn’t want to do” the reunion special before it aired, clearing any misinformation that she was busy with college finals.
JoJo, who was backstage at the time, agreed with Kendall and commended Kelly and her daughters for returning, despite their strained relationship with the show.
“Just going off how you exited the show, for you to be able to come here and be like, ‘Look, I still care about this,’ is really cool to see,” JoJo told Kelly. “It’s like you care about your past. Them not being here is kind of like ‘Let me erase my past, pretend that it never happened, shove it down the drain and that’s why you are who you are.’”
The Hyland sisters, however, defended Nia, Maddie and Mackenzie’s decision to stay home for the reunion because it was difficult to unpack their time with Miller.
“Some people might still be processing all the things that we went through,” Paige said.
“They, like, closed the book and they don’t want to backtrack,” Brooke added. “It’s an emotional thing.”
The cast accuses Melissa of trying to prevent any criticism
It was later revealed that Melissa had planned a gathering of all the original cast members at Maddie’s house the night before the reunion as a surprise party for Paige’s 23rd birthday.
“There hasn’t been a lot of contact, or a lot hanging out, in the past few years. All of a sudden, last night we have — off-camera — a big reunion at Maddie’s house,” a producer said. “You don’t think there’s any other ulterior motives of having you guys all over there the night before a reunion where they’re not gonna be here to speak or to defend themselves?”
Kendall said that it was “weird” to be at Maddie’s house because “we’ve never been invited like that.”
JoJo and Kalani, who were not invited to the gathering, felt that Melissa tried to manipulate the situation by planning the party beforehand.
“I wasn’t invited, by Melissa, cause Melissa set this up, to make sure that none of us said anything bad about them at this reunion,” Kalani said.
“I agree with Kalani, 100%,” Christi replied, via FaceTime. “Melissa has been orchestrating and playing everyone as long as I’ve known her. She saw an opportunity to absolutely throw a fire blanket on any bomb that was gonna go off today and she took it. And anybody who thinks different – you’re delusional.”
Chloe accuses Miller of changing competition scores to benefit Maddie
When shown a clip of Miller being caught in a lie about not contesting scores at a competition Chloe won, Chloe admits that she believes that Miller got the scores of the competition changed so Maddie would beat her.
“I think she was willing to do whatever it took to get the outcome she wanted,” Chloe said while admitting that she was originally not planning on coming to the reunion because she didn’t want to discuss the Chloe v. Maddie rivalry orchestrated by Miller.
“She just couldn’t stand to see you happy,” Paige said, which received the agreement of all her castmates.
While she said that she may have benefitted from the rivalry, Chloe admitted that constantly being told that she was less than Maddie “really took [her] down.”
“I thought I wasn’t enough like in every single way,” Chloe recalled tearfully. “And it wasn’t until about a year ago, I realized the way I felt about myself were her words still lingering with me. 10 years later, I realized that’s not who I am. That’s not my truth. She doesn’t define me anymore. She doesn’t keep that power over me and I started to heal.”
Kelly has many regrets over her final fight with Abby
When Kalani mentioned that it was “sad” how Miller punished her students over their mom’s behavior, Kira said this dynamic “created the ugliness” that caused the Hylands to leave the show in 2014 over the notorious “get your finger out of my face” fight.
“We started dancing when we were 2 years old,” Brooke said. “That fight happened and then we never danced again.”
Brooke and Paige revealed that it’s difficult for them to see that clip on social media.
“It’s easier to cope with when you just laugh about it,” Paige said.
Kelly, who also danced under Miller when she was child, admitted that the family never discussed leaving the junior elite team after the fight: “It was easier just not to talk about it.”
When asked by Jessalyn whether she would have handled the fight differently if she could do it again, Kelly immediately said she would.
“I have for the past 10 years, been guilty every single day of my life,” Kelly said through tears, later telling her daughters that she “ruined your life and your dance career.”
While crying, Kelly shared her beliefs that she wouldn’t have gotten a divorce if she and Miller didn’t have their final clash.
“[The fight] just kind of changed me,” she confessed.
Kalani has a history with suicidal thoughts
Kalani left the stage while the cast was reacting to their most meaningful dances because she knew producers were going to discuss a group dance called “Suicide hotline.”
After calming down in the bathroom, Kalani returned to the group to discuss her experiences with suicidal thoughts and calling suicide hotlines — something which no one else, including her mother, knew.
“I really wasn’t prepared to speak about what I’m going to talk about but I have like personally have had suicidal thoughts,” Kalani said. “And so watching the dance, obviously like triggers emotions, and it’s one of my favorite dances and I love it but I think I connect to it like more than I ever have before.”
“I do think that it’s important to talk about like, you can call 988 and they can help you. I’ve called they’ve helped me,” she added.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.