Breaking It DownEverything We Learned From the ‘Dance Moms: The Reunion’ Special: Read the Quotes

May 2, 2024 10:58 am

By Hanna Wickes

dance moms

The Dance Moms: The Reunion has officially premiered, and a lot of tea was spilled. From why certain cast members were absent, to the complicated feelings the girls have of the show and former dance coach Abby Lee Miller — we broke down the biggest bombshells from the Lifetime special.

The reunion premiered on Lifetime on Wednesday, May 1, and included former Dance Moms alumni JoJo Siwa, Chloe Lukasiak, Paige Hyland, Brooke Hyland, Kendall Vertes and Kalani Hilliker.

Three members of the original Dance Moms cast were noticeably absent, which included Maddie Ziegler, Mackenzie Ziegler and Nia Sioux.

“Everyone’s saying Nia, Maddie, Mackenzie question mark,” Kendall said in the special after posting a group photo of the reunion attendees. “Enjoy the six that decided to do this.”

As the comments rolled in, JoJo suggested to put out a statement about the missing three.

“As much as we’re grateful for this day, everyone wondering about the few people missing, everyone was invited today but only some wanted to be here,” JoJo wrote. “[We] know how to be sweet with a little bit of sass!”

Abby Lee Miller, founder of the Abby Lee Dance Company, was also notably absent from the special.

According to a source from People Magazine, it’s said that some of the girls explicitly requested that the choreographer be absent for them to be “able to speak their minds more openly.”

The insider claimed, “At this point, everyone has gone through different eras, had time to reflect and there’s been a lot that Abby put them through emotionally and physically and they just didn’t want to relive that.”

Scroll through our gallery to uncover the biggest revelations from Dance Moms: The Reunion.

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Kendall and JoJo slam Maddie, Mackenzie and Nia’s absence

Some of the former Dance Moms alumni were annoyed of the trio’s absence, specifically Kendall and JoJo.

“Maybe they just don’t think they needed this,” Kendall said, per People. “It was literally the stepping stone into who we are today. We would not be here without Dance Moms.”

However, Paige defended the former castmates’ decision and said that they “might still be processing,” and that the trio probably “closed the book and they don’t want to backtrack,” adding, “It’s an emotional thing, I feel like.”

JoJo also disagreed with the trio’s absence, stating it was “kind of sad to see.”

She continued, “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.'”

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JoJo Siwa says Abby Lee Miller was ‘always right’

At one point in the reunion, the “Karma” singer admitted that she thought Abby was “always right” when it came to her coaching style.

“This is gonna be a little controversial to say I think but — to me, Abby was always right,” she revealed to a very quiet room, via People. “I did interrupt two adults talking, if I was a mess and a beat off, she wasn’t just yelling at me because you want to yell at me. I actually was a mess and was a beat off. One thing that I’ve learned really working and staying in Hollywood is that — that’s normal. And it’s like, it’s scary that that’s normal but that taught me how to survive in the industry. I mean it truly is so tough.”

She then summed up that Dance Moms was a “dynamite empire” and anyone who was “lucky enough” to be a little part of it is “in the cool kids club,” adding, “and if you want to s–t on that, then that’s your own fault.”

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The ‘elephant’ in the room

At one point, producers addressed “the elephant in the room” — a party held at Maddie’s house the night before recording the special, which was for Paige’s birthday. In attendance, were the missing trio — Maddie, Mackenzie, Nia — as well as Paige, Brooke, Chloe and Kendall. JoJo and Kalani were not invited.

“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?” the producer asked the girls who were there, per People.

While Brooke said the girls didn’t “address” the reunion special, Kendall did admit that she felt it was “weird,” as they’ve never been invited before.

As for Kalani and JoJo, the two laughed after producers asked if “everyone in the building” had been invited.
Kalani later shared her take: “I wasn’t invited, by Melissa [Maddie and Mackenzie’s mom], cause Melissa set this up, to make sure that none of us said anything bad about them at this reunion.”
“I agree with Kalani, 100%,” Chloe’s mom, Christi, said. “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.”

After JoJo agrees with Christi, she addresses the “Karma” singer head on — “JoJo, you weren’t getting invited ’cause you threaten her kids ’cause you’re f–king successful.”

“That means a lot to hear from you, Christi,” JoJo responded.

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Chloe almost didn’t attend the reunion

Chloe later revealed that she was “hesitant” to return for the reunion, as she was tired of addressing the rivalry that Abby created between her and Maddie.

“I was so sick of like being put in this box that I’ve been put in since I was little and then I realized that it’s gonna scare me either way, whether I’m part of it or whether I’m not,” Chloe explained, via People. “So it’s time to come back and set the record straight.”

“I thought I wasn’t enough like in every single way,” she later revealed, through tears. “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.”

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Kelly felt ‘guilty’ for how things ended

ICYMI, Brooke and Paige left Dance Moms in 2014 after Kelly saw Abby bringing Kalani into the studio as a move to replace Brooke. The fight became physical and led to Kelly leaving Abby Lee Dance Company, ultimately ending her daughters’ dancing careers.

“We never really talked about it,” Kelly admitted of their exit. “It was just kinda like, it just happened and … It was easier just not to talk about it.”

She then admitted she would have done it differently if she could.

“I feel like that’s my fault, that we left because I lost my temper. I pretty much felt guilty for the past 10 years of my life. Since that day happened.”

Kelly later told her daughter that she felt like she had “ruined your life and your dance career.”

“I always said if that was me, if I was a mother, I think I would have been 10 times worse than you,” Paige assured her mom, “because I feel like I always know that you were only protecting us.”

Despite Kelly’s regretful feelings, her daughter reminded her that the two were able to have normal childhood experiences because of that decision.

“We’re still able to have that because of when we got off the show,” Brooke said. “I hope you know that.”