Sharna Burgess is officially a United States citizen.
“Today something really amazing happened :),” the “Dancing With the Stars” pro, 37, captioned an Instagram video on Thursday of herself taking the Oath of Allegiance in front of the US Department of Homeland Security emblem.
Burgess raised her right arm as she recited the oath while holding her certificate and a small American flag in her left hand. She added Whitney Houston’s version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” over the short clip.
“I had no idea that this would feel emotional for me,” she wrote. “This has been my home for nearly 12 years now. My son was born here, my life and love and career.. all here. And yet this last step of becoming a citizen and finally having the same rights as all Americans felt so important.”
Burgess, who was born and raised in Australia, explained that she has “lived outside” of her home country since she was 18 years old.
“I’ve never even had to vote anywhere before,” she added. “I think I always felt a bit like a Gypsy searching for belonging. Afraid of staying in one place and also craving the security of it. But then, America slowly became my permanent home.”
The Season 27 mirrorball champion began dating Brian Austin Green in late 2020, and the couple — who competed together on Season 30 — welcomed son Zane this June.
“Eventually I found my tribe here, I bought a home here, I fell in love here, I birthed my son here,” she concluded her post. “Now this final step is the period at the end I never knew I was needing so much. This very long chapter of finding belonging has finally come to a close. I Sharna Burgess, am a citizen of The United States of America, and I belong here. 🙏🏻.”
Burgess added on her Instagram Story that she “didn’t expect” to become emotional during her oath, but she did — and Green, 49, was there to film the entire thing.
“I have all the rights of an American,” she told her followers. “I am an American. It’s a really big deal. It’s really cool. I’m really taking it in.”
sharnaburgess/Instagram
sharnaburgess/Instagram
sharnaburgess/Instagram
Burgess announced in August that she would not be returning to “DWTS” — after nearly 10 years as a pro — to prioritize her son.
“I was not ready to spend, at minimum, 10 hours a day away from Zane,” she explained at the time.
