‘American Pickers’ Danielle Colby Makes Bold Confession About Burlesque Career

American Pickers star Danielle Colby made a bold confession about her burlesque career and the sacrifices she made to pursue it.

On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the History Channel personality, 50, took to Instagram with a video of herself from 2020 floating on an inflatable pineapple in a pool in her birthday suit.

“My roots in n@k&d work started in 1996, after my son was born,” Colby began her lengthy update. “I secretly started modeling for a talented local QC artist Dave Sorensen and danced at amateur nights at a gay club in the QC called ‘JR’s.’ The prize was $25 and a bar tab. I was just exploring my sexuality. I’m coming to understand that it was not something I needed to be ashamed of.”

In the post, Mike Wolfe‘s American Pickers costar shared that when the clip was shot by her husband, Jeremy Scheuch, she “did still carry quite a lot of shame, guilt and confusion about sex, sexuality, sensuality, my body, my history, my desires, etc.”

Colby then admitted, “I have been pushed out of many social circles because I just did not quite fit in and have been labeled too much by far too many who offered me way too little for me to actually care about their opinions. I kept going. I kept pushing boundaries, I kept learning more about myself, I kept going despite rumors and dangers. And trust me, there were a lot of both.”

Related: American Pickers’ Mike Wolfe Sets Record Straight on Danielle Colby’s Claim That Show Is “Done”

However, the owner of the Ecdysiast Arts Museum in Davenport, Iowa, noted that she didn’t allow the behavior to “undermine” her plans.

“I proceeded on my path and I let those people fall to the wayside. Some of them wanted to save me. Some of them wanted to be me. Some of them wanted to end me. None of them succeeded in doing any of the above.”

She added, “The number one lesson that I have learned is that it’s none of my business. What other people think about me. Keep going. Don’t stop. Keep reaching forward, not backward.”

After revealing she was “done” with American Pickers, Colby is now focusing solely on her museum and burlesque endeavors. Meanwhile, Wolfe has a new show titled History’s Greatest Picks With Mike Wolfe premiering on Feb. 22 on the History Channel.

Next: American Pickers’ Danielle Colby Sends Direct Message to Mike Wolfe’s Political Past

This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.