‘Dance Moms’ Abby Lee Miller Says These Were the Worst Things to Happen to Her in Jail

Whether you adore her or you can’t stand her tactics for teaching children the art of dance, there’s no doubt reality TV fans know who Abby Lee Miller is. The star of Dance Moms began her famous dance studio, The Abby Lee Dance Company, and now only accepts the most distinguished young dancers to learn her craft. From fights with parents to award-winning performances, there’s no doubt that the show has brought drama — but it’s also kickstarted the careers of many young girls as well.

In recent years, Abby Lee Miller has been put through the ringer. Not only did she go to prison, but she also battled cancer and continues to deal with the aftermath. And now, she’s coming forward to talk about her prison experience.

Abby Lee Miller was sentenced to a year in prison due to bankruptcy fraud

While she was initially known for her no-nonsense behavior in the studio, Abby Lee Miller has since made a name for herself thanks to her stint in prison and health issues that followed. Us Weekly reminds us the star was sentenced to a year in prison and was sentenced back in May 2017. Her crime? She concealed bankruptcy assets and also had false bankruptcy declarations. Not only that, but she was also hit with additional charges for bringing $120,000 of Australian currency into the U.S. without reporting it. She was slapped with a huge fine, sentenced to jail, and of course, decided to quit Dance Moms along the way.

Miller hoped to use her jail time to better herself, but unfortunately, she was hit with even worse news upon her release into a halfway house. CafeMom reminds us Miller thought she had an infection in her spine, but it turned out to be a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After 10 rounds of chemotherapy, Miller has recently announced she’s currently cancer-free, but the woes of her jail sentence followed by the shock of the cancer were enough to completely change her life.

She talked of mistreatment from prison guards during interviews

In a recent interview with Inside Edition, Miller discussed what life in jail was really like — and it seemed like she had a more brutal time than anyone ever would have imagined. As she told the interviewer, “The first day was the worst day for me.” And she went on to explain that the prison guards attempted to “rip off” her eyelash extensions as soon as she got in.

It only got worse from there. Miller explained she was falsely accused of posting a photo of herself online with others who visited her, and for this, she was put into solitary confinement. And she even said the guards would target her because she was known for being on TV. “I would have strange guards that were never in our unit, that I never saw before, walk in and ask others girls, ‘Hey, where’s that ‘Dance Moms’ lady? Where’s that dance lady? I am going to get her’,” she said. Miller then added that the guards would shake cans of soda and open them all over the clothes in her locker, too.

Miller also thinks her prison sentence led to her current paralysis

Miller details some pretty brutal mistreatment, but she still has many challenges she’s currently dealing with now as she returns to Dance Moms. Due to the cancer that was in her spine, she still can’t walk and must use a wheelchair. It’s clear through her Instagram that she’s continuing to get stronger every day, however, and she has aspirations to keep fighting for her health and for her ability to walk again.

During her interview with Inside Edition, she also expressed that she thinks her prison sentence had something to do with her paralysis. According to Miller, the prison took away her diabetes and thyroid medications, which she thinks contributed to her declining health. “I think taking my medicine away led to this entire issue and the reason I’m in a wheelchair and I’m handicapped,” she said.

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