Thirteen-year-old dancer and actress Maddie Ziegler became a household name after appearing in the past six seasons of popular American reality TV show "Dance Moms." Last February, however, the young star chose to finally leave the show she has been part of for almost five years.
In an interview with "Seventeen" magazine, where she will appear on the cover of in August, Ziegler revealed the reason behind her decision to leave the reality show.
"Leaving 'Dance Moms' was a hard decision to make, but it was getting too stressful," she said in her magazine interview.
"I feel like I had so much more pressure on me to be the best in the room," she added.
Although she had to make the difficult choice, the teenage star shared that she feels she made the right decision.
"Now, I feel like I'm so free," Ziegler shared.
Was notorious dance instructor and choreographer Abby Lee Miller part of Ziegler's decision to leave the TV series even at the height of her popularity? The teenager dance star admitted that Miller is "exactly how she is on the show."
Ziegler, who will appear in the next season of "So You Think You Can Dance?" nevertheless shared Miller's positive side.
"The thing that I like about her most is she can actually be funny sometimes. And she also wanted me to be good," Ziegler said about the infamous "Dance Moms" choreographer.
She also opened up about the rude comments she has been receiving on social media sites like Twitter and Instagram. She said it became a cause of concern for her, but later she learned how to deal with her bashers.
"I would be like, 'Why are they mad at me?'" Ziegler said. "I've come to realize now that people just do it because they want attention. One person would be hating on me, and then another girl would get into a fight with her on my page! I'm just like, What the heck? Why do people do this?"
