'Dance Moms' Star Abby Lee Miller Released From Prison

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Abby Lee Miller Is Finally Out Of Jail - What's Next For The 'Dance Moms' Star

Lifetime

One of the most dramatic and bizarre reality show scandals in recent memory is finally over.

Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller is finally leaving prison after eight months behind bars.

Fans (like me) who have followed every detail of Miller's case know that her stay in jail hasn't been easy.

But she still has one last trial to complete before she's a free woman.

What crime did she commit?

Abby Lee Miller court case.
Miller outside of court.AP

Miller was charged with bankruptcy fraud in 2015, and sentenced to a year and a day behind bars after pleading guilty.

She was also ordered to pay $160,000 in fines and penalties.

Investigators discovered that the reality star had hidden $775,000 from her TV earnings.

That included money from her appearances on Dance Moms, American Idol, and Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition.

But Miller refused to take responsibility, blaming her crimes on "trusting other people with my money."

"I'm afraid of being physically abused"

Abby Lee Miller jail.
Lifetime

Before starting her prison sentence last summer, Miller confessed to The View's Jedediah Bila that she was "crying her eyes out."

"I don't know if they're going to have a bra that fits me," she said through tears.

More importantly, Miller worried she would be "physically abused or raped" by other inmates.

"I have to stay busy," she confessed. "If I thought about it every day, I'd just sit around and cry."

But being in jail turned out to be a mostly positive experience for Miller, who dropped 100 pounds and learned some new skills.

"Feeling extremely proud of myself!"

After all of her worries about life in prison, Miller admitted she was mostly bored during her stay at California's FCI Victorville.

Miller spent her days taking classes on personal finance and real estate, and was allowed to keep her fans updated on social media.

Abby Lee Miller diploma
Abby Lee Miller / Instagram

"Feeling extremely proud of myself!" she wrote under a photo of her class diploma.

Mainly, Miller missed dancing and coaching.

"Starting to get so so bored," she wrote under a photo of herself from happier times. "I don't function without dance."

Luckily, Miller was allowed to choreograph a special performance for the prison's Christmas concert last year.

She also found time to stay fit in prison.

100 pounds lighter

Miller had gastric bypass surgery just weeks before her sentence began, and she admitted to worrying about her diet as she entered prison.

"I don't think there's a salad bar and I doubt there's going to be a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables," she said.

Abby Lee Miller weight loss
Miller had gastric bypass surgery shortly before her sentence began.Abby Lee Miller / Instagram

But Miller has obviously made the most of her new diet, because an Instagram photo of her with some visitors shows she's lost a lot of weight - reportedly over 100 pounds.

Now that Miller is finally out of jail, she'll have to fit exercise into her busy schedule.

"My world flipped upside down when I had to enter prison"

After eight months of her year-long sentence, TMZ reports that Miller has been transferred to a halfway house in Long Beach, California.

She will live there as she completes employment counseling, job placement, and financial management assistance.

Abby Lee Miller Dance Moms.
Miller is just months away from freedom.Lifetime

Miller will reportedly stay in the home until May 25, when she will officially become a free woman.

Looking back on her experience in jail, Miller is proud of herself.

"My world flipped upside down when I had to enter prison," she wrote on Instagram, "the stories you read about me [being] a princess are untrue."

"I have made friends with both inmates and staff, I've tried to better myself, participated in anything offered to me and I am a better person for this experience."

What's next?

We have a feeling that Miller doesn't need much job counseling to find her next gig.

Before heading to prison, she teased her plans for a Dance Moms follow-up to US Weekly.

The show would be a scripted drama that picks up "where Dance Moms leaves off," kind of like how Miller is picking up where her life left off.

Wishing Abby all the best as she leaves prison!

[H/T: TMZ]

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