Maddie Ziegler Says Her Mom Apologized for Putting Her Through Dance Moms

Though Maddie Ziegler doesn't like to lose, her time on Dance Moms wasn't always a winning experience. 

The 20-year-old recently got candid about her six seasons on the Lifetime reality show, which followed adolescent dancers at Abby Lee Miller's dance company and their moms, noting how a recent conversation with her mom Melissa Ziegler-Gisoni led to an unexpected apology. 

"Last year, I was having a really bad panic attack, and I called my mom," Maddie told Emily Ratajkowski on the June 27 episode of High Low with EmRata. "And things were coming up from the past, and she apologized to me and she was like, 'I am so sorry that I put you through that.'"  

However, Maddie, who appeared on the show alongside her younger sister Kenzie, added that their mom wasn't afraid to advocate for them.

As the West Side Story actress explained, "She really did everything to try and break our contract, and pull us out, and eventually did."

And between their years on Dance Moms and other post-show endeavors—which include album releases, feature films, clothing collabs and even a memoir—Maddie and Kenzie have both adjusted to life in the public eye. 

Specifically, as Kenzie told E! News in November 2021, the two sisters have learned to shrug off the haters.

"Honestly, like, most of the time the people that are commenting those things want to be recognized, you know what I mean?" the 19-year-old shared during the joint interview with her sister. "There's been times where someone comments on Maddie's picture and I comment back to them and I'm like, 'Don't ever—she's the most beautiful person!' And they're commenting back, 'I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say that.' So now I've learned that none of it matters. They're probably just doing it because they're bored. Like, it's not worth my time."

And Maddie agrees.

"We've really tried to just trust our gut and move forward," she added, "and realize that there's a lot of Internet trolls and there's not much you can do about it. And just to, like, live your life and be as happy as you can be."

And whether Maddie misses her reality TV days? The Music actress says she and her sister are happy taking things a little easier these days. 

"I think it's crazy because now I feel like our lives are way more relaxed than they were when we were young because it was such a high-pressure situation," she shared. "In a way, I think we're so relieved that now it turned into more of a calm environment. And we're just so happy that it's transitioned into what it is now."