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Reece Weaver in America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.Courtesy of Netflix
Long before Reece Weaver officially hung up her Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniform on the recently released third season of America’s Sweethearts, there had been mounting online speculation that she might not return to the squad known as DCC. “It’s weird because I don’t like living in secrecy,” Weaver exclusively told Vanity Fair in her first interview since retiring. “I feel like we’re in a culture now where we’re supposed to share—post anything and everything. And it’s been nice to keep that intimate for now.”
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Reece WeaverMaryna Matorina
The Florida native graduated from the University of Alabama with a dance degree in 2023, trading her cap and gown for a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader uniform after graduation. “I really came into this program thinking, ‘Man, I’m going to go five years. I’m probably going to be that one that considers a sixth year,’” Weaver said of the usual term for Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, led by longtime director Kelli Finglass and head choreographer Judy Trammell, both former DCC cheerleaders themselves. “I prayerfully considered this for a while, but had an inkling when I went into my last game,” said Weaver. On December 21, she spent her final home game cheering from the sidelines as the Cowboys lost to the Los Angeles Chargers. “I didn’t want to tell myself it was my last game, but I treated it as if it very well could be,” she says. “So having that sense of closure on the field was really big for me.”
Toward the tail end of her third year as a DCC, Weaver suffered a high ankle sprain that effectively halted her season, forcing her to miss two big games, including a televised Thanksgiving halftime performance with Post Malone. “When my injury happened, it was extremely defeating. I was really at a point where I needed some fire and fuel again,” she said. “That period of two weeks or so of recovery time, I really felt like my passion for dance was rekindled. I don’t think that was a big factor for why I decided to move on, but it did give me time to really process.”
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Reece Weaver in the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders locker room.
Courtesy of Netflix
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Kelly Villares, Reece Weaver, and Charly Barby in America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Courtesy of Netflix