Abby Lee Miller wanted to be a part of Maddie Ziegler's post-Dance Moms success. In the Lifetime special, Dance Moms: Abby Lee Tells All, which aired on Tuesday night, Miller got candid about her former pupil's star status.
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Noting that she never had a falling out with Ziegler and that she wasn't "sad" about her fame, Miller did say she was disappointed.
"Absolutely. 'Cause that's not the kid I raised," she said, noting that she "absolutely" felt like a mother figure to the young dancer.
"I talk to the media, I might not pick up the phone and call her, but I tell everybody else!" Miller said of praising Ziegler. "I tell my friends, 'She's adorable, she's wonderful! It's a great film!' I look at what she has done, and the other jobs and the other opportunities besides Dance Moms, they all involve dancing, they're all about dance, they're all judging dance, dancing, performing, something!"
Miller believes she's responsible for the success of Sia's protégé.
"I don't think had she not been in my studio, she would be where she is today," the former Lifetime star said. "And I can confidently say that. I'm not gonna say that I 'made' anybody, I didn't make her, her mom and dad created her, but I certainly added my two cents in."
And if Miller has one hope for Ziegler, it's that she remembers her roots.
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Interview "I hope that she doesn't forget the good times cause there were a lot more good times than bad times," she said.
Miller turned herself in for her 366-day prision sentence earlier this month at the FCI Victorville facility in Victorville, California.
For more from the special, watch the clip below!