Cheryl Burke Talks Candidly About Childhood Abuse on 'Ellen' (VIDEO)

Cheryl Burke of 'Dancing With the Stars' talks candidly about being sexually abused as a child and how this affected her relationships later in life on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' (weekdays, syndicated).

Burke says her troubled relationships as an adult stemmed from being molested at age five. "From that point on, I had no self-esteem and I had no self-confidence," she said. "I didn't know what to do. So, I fell for these men that were unavailable to me. The abuse was something I felt like I deserved and I continued to go back to that."

At one point, a boyfriend beat Burke with a belt in a situation she describes as the "scariest" of her life. "I didn't turn to my parents right away," she said. "I felt ashamed. I didn't know how to talk about it. But I did talk to a friend and I eventually got out of it."

Visit 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' here.