How The Dance Moms Reunion Impacted Chloe Lukasiak

The now grown up cast of "Dance Moms" have been vocal about the anguish they experienced while filming with controversial dance coach  Abby Miller, with some wanting nothing to do with her. While the cameras didn't capture everything, Chloe Lukasiak has admitted that she left the series in 2014 after Miller spoke ill about a medical condition she suffered from that affected one of her eyes. When the opportunity for a "Dance Moms" reunion came about, Lukasiak believed she needed closure and agreed to return, though the production greatly impacted her.

Speaking with Girls' Life in May 2024, Lukasiak explained, "I spent quite a few years after the show [ended] trying to put it in the past and move on...and it felt very unfinished. I remember sitting there filming on the third day [of the reunion special] and thinking, 'OK, I can move on now.'" However, the Lifetime special also left Lukasiak with another stunning revelation, one that could also help her to get over her time as a child reality star: She could benefit from undergoing therapy to deal with her trauma. 

As filming of the "Dance Moms" reunion wrapped up, Chloe Lukasiak admitted that she was overcome with emotion. "It made me realize I should probably go to therapy," she shared with People in April 2024. "I got things I need to heal from, but it was good to look back and just appreciate."

For Lukasiak and the other former stars of the popular show, they only agreed to participate in the show if coach Abby Lee Miller was not included. According to one insider, they didn't want to have to deal with their former coach. "There's been a lot that Abby put them through emotionally and physically and they just didn't want to relive that," they shared with People in March 2024. Some of her former students, including Maddie Ziegler, have expressed that the show was a toxic environment. While Ziegler chose not to participate in the reunion, Miller had a message for the other dancers, claiming during an episode of her "Just B with Bethenny Frankel" podcast in May 2024 that the one-time members of her ALDC could not face her and questioning why they continued to be taught by her if her dance company was that unbearable.

Even with the harsh verbal lashings she endured from Abby Lee Miller and constantly feeling that she was in second place on the show, Chloe Lukasiak is thankful for "Dance Moms" and the many opportunities it has afforded her. She launched the Elevé national dance competition with her mother Christi Lukasiak and Diane and Brittany Pent. She has also appeared in several movies, including as "The Message" and "Loophole."

"I'm actually really grateful that my experience was what it was — I feel like I'm empathetic, I work really hard—and I am completely who I am because of that intense competition at that young age," she shared in her Girls' Life interview. It's unlikely that Lukasiak will reconnect with Miller. However, she still remains close to several of her fellow "Dance Moms" stars including Kalani Hilliker, Nia Sioux, and Brooke and Paige Hyland. With the reunion airing on May 1, 2024, Lukasiak it seems as though she can finally focus on her healing.