Did the Dance Moms Actually Like Maddie? And Did Abby Even Care About Her?

Rewatching Dance Moms, I don’t think the moms truly liked Maddie. They had love for her as a kid=, but it always felt like they just tolerated her. Sure, Abby’s favoritism was unfair, but the resentment made Maddie an outsider. The only mom who seemed to genuinely like her was Holly.

By seasons 3 and 4, Maddie was completely isolated. Abby and Melissa’s actions distanced her from the group, and the other moms took out their frustrations on a child, which wasn’t fair. A perfect example is the Watermelon Game—a setting outside of dance where Maddie wasn’t even competing, yet Christi still accused her of fake crying just because she lost. None of the other moms checked on her when she got hurt, even if they truly felt like she was faking because she lost its still sad how not one of the other moms actually checked on her to make sure; they just assumed she was being manipulative. That kind of resentment followed Maddie everywhere, It’s sad how, even outside of dance, she was treated like some calculated robot instead of a Child with actual feelings

And honestly, I don’t even think Abby liked Maddie as much as people assume. She saw her as a meal ticket. If she really cared, she would’ve protected her more instead of Causing all the toxicity. If Maddie wasn’t her star student and she danced for somebody else or left in an early season like in season 4 , I think Abby would’ve felt the same way the other moms did—jealous and dismissive.