Former Dancing With The Stars professional Sharna Burgess has shared a powerful and candid account of her past battles with disordered eating, revealing a history of 'binging and restricting' that lasted into her adult years.
A Candid Confession on Social Media
During a question-and-answer session with her Instagram followers on Sunday, the 40-year-old Australian dancer was asked directly if she had ever struggled with an eating disorder. Burgess did not shy away from the difficult topic.
"I struggled with binging and restricting mostly," she wrote openly. "I had a super complicated relationship with food as a teen and my 20s. In my 30s that changed though." This public revelation highlighted the often-hidden challenges faced by individuals in the public eye.
The Damaging Impact of Dance Culture
Burgess has previously pinpointed the world of professional dance as the origin of her negative body image. In a 2021 interview with Good Health & Wellbeing, she explained how the industry's intense focus on physique was instilled from a young age.
She recalled being just 15 years old when her teachers would weigh her every two days, issuing directives on whether she needed to lose weight. "Every week I was told that I needed to lose more weight – and I certainly wasn’t overweight," Burgess stated, underscoring the toxic environment.
This constant scrutiny led to what she described as a "real struggle with my body because of dance." For years, this perspective dominated her self-view, a common but damaging consequence in performance-based careers.
A Transformative Perspective on DWTS
The turning point, Burgess explained, came after she joined the cast of Dancing With The Stars in 2011. Witnessing the celebrity contestants' journeys was profoundly transformative for her own mindset.
"It was seeing just how much the celebrities on the show transformed and ended up loving their bodies through being able to move and dance that really shook my perspective," she revealed.
This experience forced her to re-evaluate her own relationship with her physique. She began to see her body not as an object of criticism, but as an instrument of strength and achievement. "I started to see a body that had gotten me through some incredibly difficult times, that had created some beautiful moments, that had won championships," she reflected.
Burgess credits this shift as her "first turning point" in a long journey towards self-acceptance, demonstrating that positive role models and environments can catalyse healing.
Life Beyond the Dance Floor
While Burgess is no longer a regular pro on DWTS, she remains connected to the show. When asked by a fan if she would return, she responded, "Always. It's never a no." She cited a prior scheduling conflict with a play in New York City as the reason she couldn't participate recently.
Her personal life has also flourished. Burgess was partnered with actor Brian Austin Green on the show, and the pair later began a relationship in 2020 after a blind date. They starred together on the US version of DWTS in 2021, prioritising their relationship throughout the process.
The couple now delight in their blended family. Green is a father to five children from previous relationships, and he and Burgess welcomed their son, Zane, in June 2022. Burgess has said that Zane's arrival "bonded everyone together" and solidified their family unit.
Sharna Burgess's openness about her past struggles serves as a significant reminder of the pervasive issues surrounding body image in performance arts and the possibility of recovery and renewed self-love.
