“I think of course we would love to have everybody there,” Dance Moms star Kalani said of her costars who will be missing from the reunion episode.
While the many young stars of Dance Moms didn’t always appear on the same seasons, they still have a bond — a “trauma bond.”
The cast — Chloe Lukasiak, JoJo Siwa, Kendall Vertes, Kalani Hilliker and Brooke and Paige Hyland — sat down with E! before the reunion airs, in which they revealed some secrets about their relationships over the years.
“I don’t think people know that we’re friends,” Kalani said of the group. “And there’s so many different storylines on the show between our mothers that people just tend to think that we all hate each other, or that we picked sides with different people. But we’re actually all super close.”
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Despite TV icon Abbey Lee Miller constantly pitting the children against each other, idolizing one dancer — Maddie Zeigler in particular — and telling the dancers they are replaceable, the group have called their experience “trauma” bonding.
“It’s a trauma bond,” acknowledged Kalani.
JoJo agreed, saying, “It really is, whether that be a good trauma or a bad trauma. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a negative thing, but there’s just such a familiarity.”
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“It’s a really strong foundation, and like I was saying yesterday, I could go 10 years without seeing any of them and I’d see them and be like, ‘Nothing’s changed,'” Chloé said. “Because when you go through something like that you create such a strong relationship that you just completely understand each other.”
There were three noticeable cast mates missing from the interview — Nia Sioux Frazier and sisters, Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler — who also didn’t participate in the reunion.
“I think of course we would love to have everybody there,” said Kalani. “But everybody makes their own decision. And I’m happy that we chose ourselves that we wanted to be there. And there’s nothing wrong either way.”
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Chloe called the group sitting with her “sisters” — and said the same of the missing dancers.
Dance Moms premiered in 2011 and the dancers were around the ages of 6-9 when they began filming. Maddie, and her younger sister, Mackenzie, appeared on the show for six seasons, exiting the series in 2016.
The reunion special is airing on Lifetime at 8 p.m. May 1 and is available to stream the next day.
