Sharna Burgess Admits It Was a 'Shock' Not Being Asked Back for 'Dancing with the Stars' Season 32

“It was always ‘I want to come back next year’ and ‘Sure, we love you, we’ll always have you,'” the professional dancer said after taking a year off to be with her newborn

As Dancing with the stars is preparing to announce the full cast for season 32 on Wednesday, Sharna Burgess will be sitting in this season.

The 38-year-old professional dancer spoke about the disappointment she felt when she was not invited to participate in the upcoming season of the competitive reality show.

During an episode of her new iHeart Radio podcast ElderlyBurgess explained that she took a temporary leave of absence last year after giving birth to her child and expected to return to the series.

“I was supposed to come back last season, but Zane was only eight weeks old… I felt like I needed to sit in on motherhood with Zane,” she said in an interview with her co-host and husband Brian Austin Green. “It was always ‘I want to come back next year’ and ‘Sure, we love you, we’ll always have you.'”

Sharna Burgess and her son Zane. Sharna Burgess/Instagram Everything you need to know about ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 32

According to DWTS Pro, she found out she wasn’t going to get an invite when her colleagues started getting calls to come back and her phone went silent.

“Because it was such a shock, because I didn’t expect it, it was hard,” Burgess admitted before mentioning the time she wasn’t asked to come back for Season 27. “It’s not the first time. My last five years on the show were tough – not because of the show.”

Sharna Burgess on ‘Dancing with the Stars’. Eric McCandless/Disney

“I love the show so much, but we had a new executive producer, I think five years ago. I just won with Bobby Bones and he decided not to bring me back,” she added. “There’s a lot of speculation as to why.”

Representatives for Burgess and ABC did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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Burgess and Green welcomed their son Zane Walker in June 2022. The couple met through their business manager and then partnered during the 30th season of the dance competition show.

Ahead of season 31, the television personality shared a video on Instagram explaining her decision not to appear on the show.

Sharna Burgess and Brian Austin Green at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards held at The Dolby Theater on March 27, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Christopher Polk/getty

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“I have some news to tell you because I keep getting so many DMs about it,” she began the video. “After long conversations and a lot of thinking and really trying to come to terms with what’s right, and many conversations with Deena Katz, who is our casting director but is also like a second mom to me, I made the very difficult decision not to do this season series Dancing with the Stars. A list was published that says I would be a professional, but I won’t be.”

“I’ll be there in some capacity and we’re still talking about it,” she noted. “I’m at 100 percent capacity with my body. I feel fit, I feel strong, I’m so ready to dance. I’m going to the gym right now. We’re going to talk about what that means and how I can be detached from it.”

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After all, Burgess said she wasn’t willing to leave her newborn for hours on end.

“I wasn’t ready to spend at least 10 hours a day away from Zane,” she said. “I say ten hours because it’s not just time in the room. It’s travel time, preparation time, hair and makeup. Sundays and Mondays are full days. I’m a full-time breastfeeding mom and not only that, I’m just, that’s how I am in love with being a mom.”

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Source: HIS Education