What Abby Lee Miller Has Said About Her Experience In Prison

"Dance Moms" star Abby Lee Miller has never-ending thoughts about her prison bid. It's been years since Miller went to prison for bankruptcy fraud. In 2017, Miller was sentenced to one year and one day in prison after a judge found her guilty of misrepresenting her finances during her 2010 bankruptcy case, per E! News. In 2016, before her sentencing, Miller expressed regret about withholding her earnings to the tune of $750,000. "I am very sorry for what I've done," Miller said during the hearing. "My name has been dragged through the mud."

Ahead of her prison stint, Miller revealed why she believed that she might not survive her incarceration. But it wasn't because of her unfortunate Burkitt lymphoma diagnosis, which wouldn't come until 2018.It was because of potential prison violence. "I hope it won't be as bad as I imagine," Miller shared during "Abby Tells All" (via People). "I mean, if a whole gang of people want to kill you, they're gonna do it. If a whole bunch of people want to make your life a living hell, they're gonna do it. If it's that bad, I probably won't survive." Fortunately, Miller did survive, and she's bounced back, too. Although "Dance Moms" has been over for several seasons, Miller signed on to do a brand new "Dances Moms"-style show in 2023, per ET.

 However, she's never stopped talking about the time she spent in prison, and she's shared some super interesting thoughts about her experience.

Abby Lee Miller quickly realized why it's best to just pay your bills. In 2018, Miller spoke with Inside Edition and detailed the added stressors she dealt with while behind bars. "I have already been through the wringer," said Miller. "The first day was the worst day for me. They tried to rip my eyelashes off that were extensions." Miller also claimed that prison guards took a special interest in her because of her TV fame, but they would definitely not prove themselves to be fans. "I would have strange guards that were never in our unit, that I never saw before, walk in and ask other girls, 'Hey, where's that 'Dance Moms' lady? Where's that dance lady? I am going to get her,'" said Miller. "Then they come to your locker, they take a can of red soda pop, shake it up, open it and spray it all over your clothes."

Miller spoke more about the mistreatment she endured at the hands of prison guards in 2019, during an interview with the New York Post. The fiery dance instructor shared that she'd since developed PTSD, which is triggered by the sound of keys and other commotion. "The guards [in Victorville] were like, stupid-scary, and were just trying to intimidate me for no reason — just for their own idiotic pleasure, I guess," she added. "The whole thing was so nonsensical."

Given the mountain of legal issues and health setbacks that Abby Lee Miller has overcome — including beating her cancer diagnosis — she should probably be thankful that she was able to get a second chance at life and continue her Hollywood career. To her credit, she has taken time to express some gratitude. For example, Miller was in a grateful frame of mind in November 2018, when she thanked her fans for supporting her through her prison stint and health battles, per People.

However, Miller has also used a lot of her time complaining about her "Dance Mom" co-stars, who she felt didn't support her during the hardest periods of her life. "Shame on you," said Miller to ET in 2022. "Shame on you after what I did for you, for your children — helped make you a lot of money. You couldn't come to visit me for eight and a half months? You couldn't send a card, a letter?" Meanwhile, Miller's young fans made ample time to correspond with her. Miller continued, "It's not hurtful anymore, because you realize real quick who your friends are."