She also shared the impact of getting frequently pitted against Maddie Ziegler on the show.
Chloe Lukasiak is looking back on her time on Dance Moms -- the good and the bad. The 22-year-old dancer and former reality star participated in the upcoming special, Dance Moms: The Reunion, alongside her fellow dancemates and co-stars, JoJo Siwa, Brooke and Paige Hyland, Kalani Hilliker, and Kendall Vertes.
After filming the reunion, the former co-stars reunited to speak with ET's Rachel Smith about their time on the show and all the emotions that reuniting brought back up.
Chloe shared with ET that originally she didn't intend to participate in the reunion special.
"I said, 'No,' because it just didn't feel right. I spent so many years trying to leave that in the past, and then I went to college and I kind of disappeared for a minute," Chloe tells ET. "It was my last semester when we were filming. I decided — not in an arrogant way — but they're gonna talk about the people who aren't there, so they're gonna talk about me no matter what, so I might as well be there to be able to speak my piece, say my opinions, and talk about what happened in the past."
Chloe also wanted to make sure she was able to "express my gratitude for the experience and the opportunity and then shut the door."
Chloe emotionally opened up about the impact of dance teacher Abby Lee Miller's criticism on her throughout her adolescence during the special, breaking down in tears.
"It was really hard. It's something I'm still working on," Chloe tells ET. "I think when you're that young, you're really vulnerable and you absorb everything people tell you."
During her six years on Dance Moms, Chloe was often pitted against top dancer Maddie Ziegler.
"I was ready to put in the hours all the time anyway. I didn't need that, and I think it affected both of us in different ways. I can't speak for her, how she felt, it felt unnecessarily cruel a lot," Chloe says. "I think it completely shaped who I am today."
Despite the dance studio tension and the fact that Maddie did not attend the reunion, Chloe says she still feels close with her friend.
"I still consider her one of my closest friends. She's like a sister to me," Chloe says of the performer who has frequently teamed up with singer Sia. "I don't see her that often and we don't often get to hang out or talk, but when we go through something like what we went through together, it's a bond."
As for the next stage of her life, Chloe says she's "in a better place than I've ever been," calling it "a whole new era for me."
In terms of Miller's harsh criticism of her, Chloe notes in the special, "She doesn't define me anymore. She doesn't get that power over me and I started to heal."
Chloe tells ET that while she's grateful for the opportunities the show provided her, she has no intention of mending fences with her former instructor.
"I don't wish what she's going through or had previously gone through on anyone," Chloe says, referencing Miller's health struggles. "But for me there's a lot less wanting to reconcile and wanting to talk. I have a life of peace now and I have a successful career now and it's in spite of her, not because of her."
Dance Moms: The Reunion airs Wednesday, May 1 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
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