Abby Lee Miller Announces She’s Leaving ‘Dance Moms’ After 9 Years: ‘It’s An Exciting Time’

Abby Lee Miller broke fans’ hearts with news of her exit from ‘Dance Moms.’ The longtime dance director and choreographer revealed her upcoming plans, and even gave a shout-out to Lifetime!

Abby Lee Miller, 53, is saying goodbye to Dance Moms. After nine years of directing and choreographing her champion dancers on the Lifetime reality television show, the founder of the Abby Lee Dance Company sadly broke news of her exit on May 5. Abby did so by sharing a throwback photo of the moment her TV career began: when she signed a contract for Dance Moms!

“Nine years ago, we were in AZ filming Dance Moms. Satan stuck a pen in my hand insisting that I sign a contract!,” Abby captioned the photo, which showed her hunched over the official papers. “I was at the competition, literally in front of the stage, rehearsing a routine.  I was kinda busy! But the show must go on, right?  I did my 8 seasons, 2 spin offs and now a new self contained competition show in the midst of our global pandemic.”

Abby even sent love to Lifetime, despite her past drama with the network. “Thank you Lifetime for an incredible run and all I have learned. But I have decided to move on and not extend my agreement,” she wrote. Finally, Abby told fans what they wanted to hear: what’s next on her plate! “The next few weeks will be about exploring new projects at a new home. It’s an exciting time and more announcements to come!,” she concluded. HollywoodLife has reached out to Lifetime for comment, but didn’t hear back by the time of publication.

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Some fans were ecstatic to see Abby branch off to new opportunities. Others were shattered to learn that a rumored Season 9 wasn’t happening. “I just cant believe you quit dance moms[broken heart emoji] my heart is broken!!!,” one fan commented underneath the unexpected announcement, while another follower wrote, “Whaatttt…Dance Mom change the dance industry all around the world thanks to Abby. [broken heart emoji] I was hopping for the new season…. Exited [sic] to see what you come with next.”

Dance Moms premiered in 2011, and Abby hosted the show until Season 7B. Her time on the show was paused after she began a 366-day prison sentence for bankruptcy fraud charges in July of 2017, but was released early for good behavior in May of 2018. However, Abby’s troubles were far from over; she was sadly diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma (a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer) in April of 2018. Following multiple rounds of chemotherapy treatment, Abby announced she was cancer-free by May of 2019. Dance Moms went on to premiere its eighth season in June of 2019, which Abby returned for!