Maddie Ziegler Has No Plans to Ever Speak to Abby Lee Miller Again
Maddie Ziegler may have gotten her start on Dance Moms, but the dancer has made a name for herself outside of the reality TV show. Since exiting the show in season 6, Maddie and her sister, Kenzie Ziegler, have gone on to find success in other areas of the entertainment industry. And while Maddie is still in close contact with many of her former castmates, she no longer has any relationship with Abby Lee Miller.
Maddie Ziegler was Abby Lee Miller’s favorite student
Miller, of course, is Maddie’s former dance teacher and the owner of the Abby Lee Dance Company. Known for her brutal teaching style, Miller spent most of her tenure on Dance Moms insulting her dancers. Maddie, however, was the clear favorite of Miller and was often safe from her wrath. However, being the “favorite” presented Maddie with her own set of challenges.
The ‘West Side Story’ actor has dissociated a lot from her ‘Dance Moms’ days
Maddie is a self-proclaimed perfectionist, something that Miller championed in her. She was always expected to win first place and that pressure eventually got to Maddie. The West Side Story actor was expected to compete and win nearly every week regardless of if she was sick, exhausted, overworked, etc. Furthermore, Maddie often received vitriol from adults and people in the Dance Moms fandom because she was Miller’s favorite.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Maddie got candid about the toxic environment that the show fostered. “I had more stress at that age than I did once I left,” Maddie explained. “I have dissociated so much from that time. I’ll see fans post scenes from Dance Moms and I’m like, I literally don’t even remember that happening. It’s weird because there were really amazing times, but there were also a lot of things that were really, really not great for us kids.”
Maddie has not spoken to Miller since leaving ‘Dance Moms’ and has no plans to
Eventually, Maddie and her family realized that they needed to leave the show. However, because of their contract, it took them three seasons before they were able to make their exit. Naturally, many fans of Dance Moms were sad to see the Ziegler sisters go. However, nobody was as devastated as Miller. Fans will recall that when she found out her favorites were leaving, she spent the day crying in the bathroom. Maddie recalled having mixed feelings about leaving her dance teacher.
“She was distraught,” Maddie recalled about Miller. “For the longest time, we felt so guilty. She trained me, she helped me, but also, I knew I would be OK without her, and I was sick of being in a toxic environment. I was like, ‘This is not for me. I can’t do this.’ I haven’t spoken to her since.” Maddie also made it clear that she has no plans to ever speak to Miller again. “I feel at peace,” the movie star shared about her decision to cut off communication.
Maddie is still very close to her former teammates
While Maddie won’t be speaking to Miller in the future, she has reconnected with many of her former castmates. To date, Maddie and Kenzie are still close with all of the original members of the ALDC Junior Elite Competition Team. She, Kenzie, Paige Hyland, Brooke Hyland, Nia Sioux, and Chloé Lukasiak all still have a group chat and hang out together. However, Maddie reveals that their hangouts are drama-free and don’t include the moms.
