When Paige and Brooke Hyland left Dancing mothersWhat followed was the most dramatic scene in the show’s history.
Even a decade later, the explosive fight between dance teacher Abby Lee Miller and the Hyland sister’s mother is still on everyone’s lips. A generation of fans are even playing it on TikTok.
While the girls discuss it Dance Moms: The Reunion Special: There is still a lot of trauma to process that relates to what happened.
So let’s take another look at what happened and why Paige and Brooke Hyland left Dancing mothers when they were children.
Why Paige and Brooke Hyland left Dance Moms in 2014
Sisters Brooke and Paige Hyland were always well-behaved during their time Dancing mothersbut both found it difficult to receive praise from their hard-to-please teacher.
Abby Lee Miller spent much of the first four seasons playing favorites (Maddie Ziegler) and pitting the girls against each other (poor Chloe!).
In the now infamous season four episode, the sisters’ mother, Kelly Hyland, got into a heated argument with Abby Lee when a new girl was brought into the company out of the blue on competition day. Kelly felt that Abby had intentionally brought in surprise newcomer Kalani Hilliker as an ambush and replacement for her two children.
Abby denied it, but Kelly was undeterred. Unfortunately, things got physical when Abby walked up to Kelly and pointed her finger in her face. Abby then made a gesture as if she was going to bite Kelly, who in turn grabbed her hair and pushed her away.
While the situation was later defused by the other mothers, Brooke and Paige subsequently left ALDC.
And in fact they never danced again.
The consequences: Kelly Hyland’s arrest and her sister’s dance careers
Kelly was arrested for assault and harassment in connection with the fight with Abby. However, the charges were eventually dropped. Kelly agreed to seek counseling and stay away from Abby for six months.
Six months quickly turned into an eternity when the girls stopped dancing with Abby. But the legal battles were just beginning.
Kelly and her daughters filed a lawsuit against Abby and the show’s production company in November 2014, months after the explosive altercation.
The family claimed the girls suffered “defamation” and “emotional distress” as a result of the show THR. They claimed Abby had a “dominant and often bullying and abusive leadership style” and sought $5 million in damages. However, the judge reviewed the case and found that there was not enough “evidence.”
So the girls lost the battle and the war. After that, neither sister pursued a dance career.
But don’t feel sorry for them. On the contrary, the girls are doing well!
Brooke & Paige Hyland Return to ‘Dance Moms’ Reunion: ‘It Was Really Hard’
After being absent from the series for ten years, Brooke and Paige reunited with most of the cast Dancing mothers for a reunion special on Lifetime.
It was the first time the sisters were reunited with the other OG girls like Chloe and Kendall. It was also the first time in ten years that they faced their “replacement” Kalani.
Ahead of the show, the sisters expressed concern that their mother was blaming herself for the end of their daughters’ time in the spotlight.
“I think we both wanted out of the show, so I think we’re sorry that our mom has that guilt,” Paige told ET.
“We actually want to thank her,” Brooke added.
“We consider her a great mother who fought to do what we wanted,” Paige continues.
However, they both admit that the trauma of the fight that ended their time at ALDC is still something they struggle with today – especially because the world won’t let them forget it.
“It’s hard. It’s become a TikTok trend,” Brooke shared. “People use that sound from the fight. We scroll by. I recreated it. I just laugh at it. But the reunion was the first time “That we sat there and thought, ‘Wow, that happened!’ And it was my mother and my dance teacher, who were a very important person in my life. It was really hard.”