‘Dance Moms’ alum Chloe Lukasiak: I’m grateful for Maddie Ziegler rivalry ‘manufactured’ by Abby Lee Miller

“Dance Moms” alum Chloe Lukasiak has a affirmative outlook connected her made-for-TV puerility rivalry pinch Maddie Ziegler.

“I americium truthful grateful that I knowledgeable nan show precisely arsenic I did because it’s made maine into who I am,” nan reality star, now 22, tells Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast up of Lifetime’s “Dance Moms: The Reunion” special.

In nan two-hour catch-up, Lukasiak unpacks nan affectional turmoil of being pitted against Ziegler, now 21 — nan second of whom did not participate — by their browbeating creation coach Abby Lee Miller. 

“I ever thought I wasn’t enough,” she tearfully says in nan trailer for nan reunion, looking backmost connected nan galore times Miller showed favoritism to Ziegler. “Like, successful each azygous way.” 

With reflection, nan Pepperdine University student feels that specified title pinch Ziegler — who typically topped nan infamous “pyramid” ranking complete her — was “manufactured” by Miller, now 58, to origin on-camera chaos. (Miller did not movie for nan “Dance Moms” reunion.)

Still, Lukasiak is appreciative of being painted arsenic nan “underdog” passim her original tenure connected nan series, which lasted for 4 seasons from 2011 until 2014.

“Even though it was manufactured — and I really dive into this connected nan reunion — and moreover though I judge it was unnecessary because I judge earthy completion blooms astatine creation competitions, that is kinda nan full constituent of them, it was bully to benignant of ever beryllium connected nan separator of my seat,” she explains.

“I was pushing myself and doing nan champion I could do.”

Additionally, it’s made nan influencer — who presently boasts 8.2 cardinal Instagram followers — much attuned to others’ emotions, a value she is proud to person aft surviving nan grueling “Dance Moms” grind.

“One point I’m really grateful for having knowledgeable what I knowledgeable connected nan show is I consciousness really empathetic toward different people,” she says, describing nan upside of ever being branded 2nd best. 

“I’m ever really alert of their emotions and really they’re emotion and conscionable checking successful connected group [and] being very observant of nan world astir maine truthful that’s 1 point I consciousness I really took distant from nan show.” 

Meanwhile, Lukasiak’s mother, Christi Lukasiak — a breakout prima of “Dance Moms” who has amassed a societal media pursuing of millions since exiting nan unscripted tv abstraction — was consistently uncomfortable pinch Miller’s curen of Chloe. 

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“All you do is group her up to fail!” she exclaimed successful 1 memorable segment from an early play of “Dance Moms.” “Who does that to a kid?”

Notably, Christi, 47, who did not motion connected for nan reunion owed to a scheduling conflict, often recovered herself astatine likelihood pinch Ziegler’s mom, Melissa Gisoni — whose younger daughter, Mackenzie “Kenzie” Ziegler, besides starred connected nan show — amid nan Maddie vs. Chloe saga. 

The conflict ne'er upended nan girls’ friendship, though, Chloe tells us, raving that it remains intact to this day. 

She and nan Zieglers reunited successful March — alongside Kendall Vertes, sisters Brooke and Paige Hyland and Nia Sioux — conscionable 1 time earlier nan Lifetime typical filmed. (Like nan Zieglers, Sioux, 22, did not be nan taping.)

“That was genuinely nan first clip we were each together and I deliberation for maine it was conscionable benignant of surreal, because they had been specified a large portion of my childhood. I genuinely see them my extended family,”  she gushes, noting they person a “bond dissimilar immoderate different people” arsenic they made up nan original cast. 

“No 1 will understand what we went done connected nan show,” she adds, “especially that definite group of girls.”

Chloe admits that she initially “said no” to nan “Dance Moms” reunion, but yet signed connected because she wanted to find “closure” — which she didn’t consciousness she sewage erstwhile reprising her domiciled successful 2016’s Season 7 pursuing a two-season hiatus. 

“I still didn’t consciousness for illustration I had a due goodbye, like, a closure, closing of nan chapter,” she says. “So I wanted to spell back, stock my gratitude for everything ‘Dance Moms’ has fixed maine and benignant of reminisce connected nan bully times and nan bad times and everything successful betwixt and past move on.”

Chloe was besides thrilled to supply discourse to circumstantial onscreen situations aft truthful galore years of shooting nan show arsenic an teen pinch “no voice,” she divulges. 

“I conscionable really wanted to beryllium location because … I didn’t recognize until we were there, was [that] erstwhile I was connected nan show arsenic a really young kid, we didn’t really talk aliases person a voice. We were conscionable location dancing,” nan aspiring writer elaborates. 

“So it was conscionable really absorbing and fascinating to spell backmost and really speak our minds and person opinions and sound them and conscionable beryllium heard wholly — dissimilar erstwhile we were children.”

“Dance Moms: The Reunion” — which premieres Wednesday, May 1, astatine 8 p.m. ET connected Lifetime — stars OGs Chloe, Vertes and nan Hyland sisters, positive later additions Kalani Hilliker and JoJo Siwa.