Sharna Burgess Admits She 'Definitely' Felt a Loss of Identity After Becoming a Mom: 'Really Hard to Digest'
Burgess shares her 2-year-old son Zane with fiancé Brian Austin Green
Jon Kopaloff/Getty; Sharna Burgess/Instagram
Sharna Burgess and son ZaneSharna Burgess is opening up about how becoming a mom affected her sense of self.
Appearing on the Between Us Moms podcast, the Dancing with the Stars alum, 39, spoke about her transition to motherhood after welcoming her 2-year-old son Zane with fiancé Brian Austin Green. Burgess, who was not asked back to another season of the reality show after welcoming her son, says the loss of identity really hit her about a year ago.
"I definitely felt the loss of identity," Burgess explains. "And it hit me sort of I want to say about a year ago, it was around when Zane was...you know what? I think it all happened when I wasn't brought back to DWTS last year."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"Because I was expecting to be asked back based on conversations that were had prior. And I had said no specifically because I had just had Zane. I was 8 weeks postpartum," she continues. "And there was nothing in me that could imagine leaving him for so many hours throughout the day, especially my first born. I wanted to soak up every single moment of it."
Burgess says that the show told her that they love her and they will always have her the next year, so she didn't immediately feel the loss of herself because she thought she'd be able to come back. But when she wasn't brought back the next year, it sank in.
"The universe had a different plan for me and wants me to go a different direction and that's amazing, but at the same time it was really hard for me to digest that," she says.
"And so going through all the things that you go through when you're not brought back for a job — rejection, what's wrong with me? Is it because I'm a mother now and I'm not sexy and can I not do it anymore?"
The professional dancer remembers all these "crazy thoughts" that were going through her head as she was still deep in motherhood.
"So it wasn't just being a mom, it was also a complete transition in career and direction that I wasn't expecting so soon that had me go, 'Well, who am I?' and 'Am I just a mom? Is this all I'm going to be?'" Burgess says.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
