Christi Lukasiak Reveals Why She Didn’t Leave ‘Dance Moms’ Sooner

Christi Lukasiak and her daughter, Chloe Lukasiak, were two of the original stars of Lifetime’s hit reality series “Dance Moms.” And while the fan favorite duo's decision to leave the somewhat controversial show in 2014 wasn't exactly shcoking, it did leave many viewers questioning: why didn't they leave sooner?

It’s no secret to “Dance Moms” fans that Chloe, now 14, along with her ALDC (Abby Lee Dance Company) teammates, were not always treated fairly by their coach, Abby Lee Miller. And while many online commenters hemmed and hawed over Christi’s decision to keep Chloe on the show and at Abby’s dance school for two years throughout Season 1 through 4, the stage mom says her reasoning isn’t all that complicated.

Christi explained her reason for keeping her family on the show during a recent appearance alongside Chloe on Australia's “The Morning Show."

“I think for me, at the beginning, it was always about Chloe. She was an only child for eight years and really the other girls in the studio were her sisters. I mean, she grew up in that world with this girls,” Christi explained.

According to the former Lifetime star, her daughter socialized with Abby much more after the show began filming in 2011. Prior to that, Christi says Chloe was mainly taught by other teachers at the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based dance studio. (She now trains at Studio 19 in Cranberry Township.)

“She wasn’t her teacher when she was little. She only started dancing with her when she was older,” Christi remarked. “And we didn’t see Abby as much as when the show started filming. We saw her 45 minutes a week.”

So, why didn’t Christi leave at the first sign of Abby's questionable treatement towards Chloe? The mother-daughter duo didn’t give a direct answer, only stating that they stayed as long as they felt necessary.

“As things got progressively worse, I think you can see I definitely changed as the series went on. At the end, I just said its time to be done,” Christi said. “I think that we were just sort of watching and seeing what was best for Chloe and when it was time we knew it, and we moved on.”

While the morning show hosts labeled Abby as a “major bully” and accused her of being abusive, Chloe did remark that her former coach helped her dancing skills. “I think I learned a lot from her,” Chloe stated. “Maybe she didn’t tell me the best ways sometimes, but I did learn lot.”

As for the speculated harm “Dance Moms” has had on the dancing industry, Christi says the series, which is currently in its fifth season, is not all that bad. “It put a lot of positive emphasis on dance as well because theres kids all over the world who aspire to be like these guys so I think its inspired a lot of kids to go dance,” she said.

Watch Christi and Chloe's interview below:

Christi and Chloe left “Dance Moms” following the Season 4 finale in October 2014. Christi claimed they parted ways with the show after Abby allegedly made a remark about Chloe’s physical appearance -- a comment which never made it to air. Chloe has gone on to star in several music videos and make a name for herself on YouTube. She is currently on tour overseas with her mom doing dancing workshops and attending fan meets and greets.

“Dance Moms” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EDT on Lifetime.