Chandi’s Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Co-Stars Respond To Her Unexpected Storyline

While America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Season 2 welcomes several rookies to the squad, it also bids farewell to retiring dancers like Chandi Dayle.

Chandi had shared her plans to retire from the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders ahead of the 2024-2025 NFL season, her sixth with the team. As she wrote on Instagram at the time, “Last time doing what I love surrounded by people I love.”

But as seen in the Netflix docuseries (which returned on June 18), Chandi’s final season with the team included a few unexpected turns. Here’s what happened — plus, where Chandi from the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders is today.

Chandi’s Leave Of Absence

Toward the end of Season 2, Chandi opened up about feeling “hopeless and helpless” regarding an ex-boyfriend she accused of domestic violence, harassment, and stalking. “I feel like I always have to have my head on a swivel,” she says at one point, going on to explain that the situation has negatively impacted her mental health.

Later, during a low point on a team retreat to The Bahamas, Chandi met someone she could “confide” in. “It was the first time I feel like I mental-dumped everything that was happening, and everything I’ve gone through, and everything that was making me feel and think certain things,” she says in the doc.

However, as her teammates share in America’s Sweethearts, inviting this person to the hotel broke protocol. It stirred tension over the potential lapse in safety caused by bringing a stranger into the cheerleaders’ space.

“It helped me in the moment. I get it, it was probably the wrong place and time to do that — but selfishly, I had to do it for me,” Chandi says. “Because I feel like I was losing it.”

Chandi took a leave of absence after the trip to The Bahamas, but ultimately ended the season on a high note. “DCC has taught me a lot about myself, and a lot about life, and I’m ready to move on,” she tells the camera, adding that she’s “excited to get out of that environment and actually be calm.”

She’s Part Of The Family

Despite moving on from the team, Chandi is still very much connected to the program. “She’s a sweet soul, and of course, we will stay in touch with her,” Kelli Finglass, team director, tells Bustle. “She’ll be a part of our alumni association, and she has been a big part of the last six seasons.”

Similarly, teammate Jada McLean — who also graduated from the team at the end of Season 2 — says Chandi is still an essential part of the team’s close-knit unit.

“The sisterhood is so strong, and people don’t always realize that, but nothing really changed,” she says. “I mean, yes, there was a small situation, but we still text regularly. We still had our bus rides the rest of the season. Our love for her didn’t change just because of the situation. And I think that’s a testament to this team and the women that we are. We don’t let things like that create a divide between us.”

And dance is still a big part of Chandi’s life. She recently judged pomline auditions at her alma mater, the University of Arizona.