Why Maddie Ziegler Miss Dance Mom’s Costar Brooke Hyland’s Wedding

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Brooke Hyland was missing one member of the pyramid during her wedding day.

Chloe Lukasiak, who got her start on Dance Moms, revealed that her former castmate, Maddie Ziegler, wasn’t able to attend her wedding on February 21st to Brian Thalman.

Brooke shared on the February 23rd episode of the Casual Chaos podcast, hosted by Gia Giudice, that almost everyone will be at the wedding. The only exception is Maddie, who is busy filming a project and won’t be able to attend.

Brooke, who got engaged to Brian in May 2024, mentioned that Maddie was working on a project but didn’t share details. She’s excited to dance with her former castmates at the wedding! Several of Brooke’s former Abby Lee Dance Company co-stars attended, including Kendall Vertes, Melissa Gisoni, and Nia Sioux, as well as Kenzie Ziegler, Chloe Lukasiak, and Kalani Hilliker.

“It’ll be great to have everyone together again,” she said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve all been in the same place. And with all the wedding planning going on, it’s a perfect excuse to get us all together.”

Brooke announced her marriage to the world on February 23rd with an Instagram post filled with wedding photos, now going by Mrs. Thalman. Her sister, Maddie, showed her support with a simple but sweet comment: “Perfect.”

Nia excitedly shared her happiness, writing, “Love you guys so much! So happy for both of you!,” and Paige simply responded with, “PERFECTION.”

Former reality TV stars shared memorable moments from Brooke and Brian’s wedding. Kendall posted a group photo with Kenzie, Chloe, and Kalani, and another with Nia and Chloe, which she captioned, “Cheers to the newlyweds!”

To keep up with the cast of Dance Moms and see where they are now, keep reading…

 

Oh my gosh, it feels like forever ago when she first started dancing at Abby Lee! I was instantly captivated – she was just amazing. And now look at her! From being Sia’s little muse in those incredible music videos – seriously, I still watch them all the time – to actually acting in films! She was in Sia’s movie Music, then the West Side Story remake, which was beautiful, and now she’s in My Old Ass! I’m so proud of everything she’s accomplished, it’s been incredible to watch her grow!

Maddie also published a bestselling memoir, The Maddie Diaries, in 2017. She served as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation and co-hosted the Take 20 With Maddie and Kenzie podcast with her sister, Kenzie Ziegler. Maddie told TopMob News they wanted the podcast to feel authentic. “We wanted to be ourselves and have a relaxed, natural conversation, instead of something overly produced.”

She’s planning her next big move: launching her own beauty brand. “I’ve always dreamed of creating my own line,” she shared, “and I think it would be incredible to finally do it.”

Having moved past her acrobatic performance background, the singer recently released “Anatomy” in 2023, a deeply personal song about her complicated relationship with her father. She explained to People magazine that the song was a way for her to be more genuine and share her true story, moving beyond what she typically posts on social media. She said she was ‘stepping out of my comfort zone’ and being ‘authentic in a different way.’

Okay, so Maddie Ziegler has a huge following – over 14 million on Instagram! – but her latest album, “biting my tongue,” which came out in July 2024, really shows a new side of her artistry. It feels much more personal and thoughtful than her previous work, and I think her fans will really appreciate that she’s digging a little deeper creatively.

The actress from She Dances recently told TopMob News that she’s finally able to openly discuss her life and share what’s important to her. She hopes people will connect with her story and feel something – whether it’s happiness, sadness, or simply a sense of connection.

After a nearly ten-year break from the show Dance Moms, the award-winning dancer was excited to return to performing and competing.

Chloe Lukasiak, author of Girl on Pointe, explained that she started the Elevé National Dance Competition because she missed dancing and wanted to reconnect with a passion she’d lost. She teamed up with her mom, Christi Lukasiak, and Diane and Brittany Pent, another mother-daughter duo, to build something different from her own past experiences—a positive and encouraging environment where dancers could rediscover their love for the art form.

Okay, so she didn’t win the competition after all, but honestly, that doesn’t even matter! She’s killing it now! She moved to New York, which, hello?! Amazing! And she’s not just doing content creation – she’s actually writing a fantasy novel! I read about it in TopMob News last year. It’s like, she’s really figuring things out and building her future. She said something that totally resonated with me: she believes everything happens for a reason, and honestly, I feel that too when I see everything she’s accomplishing. It’s like she always knew this was where she was headed!

The original member of the group continues to excel in both music and acting. She released her single “Low Key Love” in 2020 and has starred in the web series Sunnyside Up, as well as 59 episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful.

While finishing her studies at UCLA – she earned a degree in American Literature and Culture in June 2024 – she was also building her music career in Hollywood. She released her single “IMMA CATCH” and was recognized as a rising star in Variety‘s 2023 Young Hollywood Impact Report.

Next up, was (death) dropping her memoir.

She shared with TopMob News that she’s deeply passionate about the power of storytelling, especially as she prepares for the November 2025 release of her project, Bottom of the Pyramid. Though she has many ambitions, she’s certain acting will remain a key part of her future career.

Nia shared that dance has always been her passion, but she also loves theater and hopes to return to it someday.

Instead of focusing on their reality show group number, the original cast member who’s been on the show the longest organized a trip to Costa Rica in 2023. They shared on Instagram in July that the week-long trip turned the group from strangers into close friends, and it was emotional saying goodbye at the airport.

She followed that with a six-day trip to Croatia, reminiscent of a backpacking adventure she took after college at Ohio University. “I saw amazing sights, experienced different cultures, and made friends I’ll have for life,” she said. “It was an unforgettable experience.”

When she’s back in the US, the Pittsburgh-based creator uses her marketing background to grow both her popular Instagram account, Bite-Sized Foodie, and the Hyland Sisters brand she runs with her younger sister, Paige. She got engaged to Brian Thalman in May 2024.

I’ve been so thrilled following Dr. Maddie’s journey since she graduated from West Virginia University back in May 2023 – Christi Lukasiak even congratulated her online, which was so sweet! Since then, she’s been traveling all over the place, working as a vet in the Hamptons, Colorado, and Wyoming. It’s amazing to see her pursuing her dream and she seems so happy – honestly, it makes me so proud!

Paige’s main travel companion (besides her sister Brooke) is her boyfriend, Jayvon Thrift, a former college football player. She shared in a 2022 post how much she loves him, calling him a fitness model she ‘adores in every kind of way’.

In July 2024, the couple celebrated their five-year anniversary by signing a lease on their first apartment together. Paige announced the news on Instagram, hinting at ‘a new adventure coming soon’.

Kendall Vertes, a recent graduate of James Madison University, was recently performing with her college’s championship dance team. She shared on Instagram in September 2023, saying her younger self would be thrilled with her accomplishments. Her mother, Jill Vertes, proudly commented, saying she was also very proud of her daughter.

Besides acting in films like Rapunzel: A Princess Frozen in Time (2019) and a live-action adaptation of Anastasia, and releasing music as Kendall K, this newcomer to the show has also secured several brand sponsorships, largely due to her large following of 11 million on Instagram.

Even though she was only on the original series for two seasons (after competing on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition), JoJo Siwa quickly became a fan favorite. She built a huge following on YouTube, partnered with Nickelodeon for exclusive products, launched a successful line of branded merchandise, and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2020.

She once told Kelly Ripa that one of the most important lessons she learned from Dance Moms was the need to adapt and persevere. It wasn’t about literal swimming, she clarified, but about having the drive to succeed and simply survive in a challenging situation.

Recently, she’s been gaining even more attention, associating with celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian. In 2021, she made history as part of the first same-sex couple to compete on the American version of Dancing With the Stars, partnering with Jenna Johnson.

The singer is now setting her sights on the Super Bowl halftime show, telling Raven-Symoné and Miranda Pearman-Maday that performing there is her biggest dream. She even joked on the August 2023 episode of The Best Podcast Ever that she’d retire and start a family once she achieves that goal. She released her first EP, Guilty Pleasure, in July 2024.

Now based in Arizona, the dancer, actress, and businesswoman is focusing on health and wellness, recently launching her beauty brand, Kare, in 2023.

She told TopMob News that her anxiety inspired her to start a brand focused on self-care. She wanted to create something for everyone, a way to relax, prioritize themselves, and build a daily routine to help manage the challenges of life.

The newest addition to the show, who first appeared on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, continues to excel as a dancer, recently returning to both performing and teaching. She explained that her teaching style is quite different from Abby’s—and most of her former teachers—emphasizing kindness while still encouraging her students to reach their full potential. The dancer married Nathan Goldman in September 2025.

Asia, originally from California, largely stepped out of the public eye right before turning ten. After appearing in one season each of Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, Dance Moms, and her own show, Raising Asia, she told TopMob News in 2021 that she had a positive experience, even if that wasn’t true for all of her fellow cast members. She stated she wouldn’t change anything about her time on the shows.

Graduating as valedictorian in June 2023, the model and artist shared on Instagram how proud she was to have reached a long-held goal and expressed her excitement for the future.

With lots of sponsorships, invitations to all the hottest events, and a new upbeat single called “Oh Boys” along with her album of the same name, she’s poised for success.

She told TopMob that she looks back fondly on her time as a reality TV star. Despite the challenges, she believes the experience helped shape her life and is something she’ll always be grateful for.

Ever since joining the show in its seventh season, the dancer from St. Louis has been performing on significantly bigger stages.

I’ve been absolutely blown away watching her career! Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, she was touring with Kendrick Lamar, then performing with Usher in Vegas and at the Super Bowl halftime show! And then, to top it all off, she shared the Grammys stage with Missy Elliott! She posted about it in February 2023, saying she felt ‘beyond blessed,’ and honestly, that’s exactly how I felt watching her shine!

Following performances dancing in the 30th anniversary celebration of The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl, alongside Chloe Bailey at the BET Awards, and with Tate McRae at the 2025 VMAs, she’s determined to continue building her career. She expressed this sentiment in a December 2022 Instagram post after finishing a 76-show run with Lamar, stating, “I know this is only the beginning.”

After leaving the show after three seasons—where she stepped into Maddie’s role as a dancer—the Arizona native wanted to experience a typical teenage life. In a 2023 YouTube video with her close friend Kelsey Millar, she explained that while high school wasn’t always easy, she’s happy she went through it. Having lived both a life in the spotlight and a more normal life, she now understands what she wants and believes it’s possible to find a balance between the two.

Since graduating in 2021, she’s started the Out of Line podcast with Millar and shared her experiences at music festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach with her 3 million Instagram followers. She also frequently meets fans while traveling with her dance students to competitions.

Brynn, who is still friends with Kenzie, described a sweet moment when someone recognized her. They asked, ‘Miss Brynn, are you famous?’

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2026-02-24 00:18