Lifetime’s hit reality show Dance Moms might be a stepping stone to fame for many young starlets like Maddie Ziegler and Chloe Lukasiak, but the focus (and drama) of the show has always been on the moms.
While the series is all about the matriarchs clashing with dance instructor Abby Lee Miller, behind the scenes there are loving and supportive husbands in the picture, too — they just prefer to remain off camera!
Although the husbands tend to take a backseat to all the hoopla over dance competitions, if you’re crazy enough to stalk them on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll know that the majority of them are very supportive of their famous daughters’ careers. Greg Gisoni, Maddie’s stepdad, is so encouraging of her fame, she even admits that he’s more present in her life than her father, Kurt Ziegler, was.
“I don’t see as much of my dad. I live with my stepdad, who’s awesome,” she said back in 2015. “He’s like my best friend. I usually see my dad on holidays, like Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve – definitely not Christmas though, because all my presents are at my house.”
Maddie’s mother, Melissa Gisoni, blames Dance Moms for ruining her first marriage to Kurt. “My ex-to-be claims that dance has ruined our marriage,” Melissa said back in 2011. It was made clear that Kurt did not want his daughters, Maddie and Mackenzie, on the show at all.
Despite the family drama of the Zieglers, many fans were curious to know is if Abby has a husband of her own at home. The answer? She doesn’t. She was once rumored to be married to communications specialist Michael Padula, but Abby later explained that it was just a misunderstanding.
“No, wait, wait, wait, just let me explain,” she said at the time. “My mother was very ill, and she just passed away … I just think it was a comfort thing for her to know there was somebody.”
Check out the gallery below to see what the other husbands of Dance Moms look like.