When viewers of Netflix's America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders last saw Dayton Bramhall, the 28-year-old Texas native was in tears after learning that she hadn't made the cut for the 2025 cheer squad.
Dayton was a legacy, the daughter of Shelly Bramhall, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and current associate choreographer for the squad, but her close association with the DCC organization made no difference.
Despite multiple auditions for the squad, her fourth attempt to make the team, which was featured in the third season of the Netflix show, ended in failure as she was cut ahead of training camp.
Dayton's heartbreak was palpable. So too was her mother's fury. Raging and seemingly more distraught than her daughter, Shelly demanded to know how Director Kelli Finglass, and Head Choreographer, Judy Trammell, could take strangers over a girl they had held as a baby.
The image of Dayton with which viewers were left was of her hiding her tear-stained face from the cameras as she was consoled by a fellow team hopeful.
The morose girl pictured on the television series, however, is a far cry from the Dayton who joined the Daily Mail on a video call. Poised, upbeat and glowing with a tan from a recent cruise across the Mediterranean Sea with her boyfriend, according to Dayton life has never been better.
'I'm really living my best life right now,' she told the Daily Mail. 'I'm just trying to let go of all the rest because life is too short.'
The irony is that long before DCC so publicly rejected her, Dayton had rejected it.
Dayton Bramhall, who appeared on season two and three of America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, says life has never been better since she didn't make the team
When Dayton was cut before training camp, her heartbreak was palpable
Dayton was a legacy, the daughter of Shelly Bramhall, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and current associate choreographer for the squad
She resisted the very idea of stepping into the world she had experienced first-hand growing up with a mother who had been a cheerleader.
Dayton said: 'It was very intimidating having a mom that was so involved with the Cowboys, because the Cowboys are very iconic, and the cheerleaders are just as iconic. I can remember in elementary school, people being like, "Oh my gosh, your mom was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, that's so cool," and all the boys wanted to meet my mom.
'For me, was like, "Ugh, I don't want to talk about it. I don't want anyone to know." I think I still carry a little bit of that with me today - that's just my mom, but I am my own person as well.
'As a woman, especially me being the daughter of someone that's super amazing - my mom's incredible and she's done incredible things – it's really hard to pull yourself aside from that and step into your own light.'
When Dayton first decided to try out for DCC in 2017, she discovered that being a legacy came with its own set of challenges. Her mother's role with the organization meant heightened scrutiny for her in an already grueling and highly competitive audition process.
In each audition attempt, Dayton was careful to maintain boundaries with her mother and those she knew in the organization. She wanted to be clear that if she made the team, it was on her own merit.
'I tried to keep a distance, and it was a little strange, because I've been around the organization my whole life,' she said. 'I think that people that didn't know me or didn't know my story at the time would see that as nepotism. I was trying to ride the line of, you know, I know these people, but this is a job. It was a double-edged sword, for sure.'
Over the next eight years after her initial audition, Dayton found her world increasingly revolving around DCC and her goal of making the team.
It consumed her thoughts, dominated her schedule, and took its toll on her mental and physical health, something she still struggles with to this day.
'I've been around the organization my whole life,' Dayton shared
Trying to be part of the iconic cheer team took over Dayton's life, occupying her every thought and and dominating her schedule
Dayton faced unique pressures as a 'legacy' - the daughter of a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader
Dayton auditioned for DCC four times before deciding to move on to another dream
She said: 'The last two years before filming [the third season], I was completely immersed in that whole world, and it consumed me. Every thought, every step that I took, everything that I did was because I wanted to make this team.'
For Dayton, emerging from the noise of the past decade has been challenging. But her passion for dance long precedes the years spent fighting for a slot on the DCC line-up.
She recalls toddling around the dance studio that her mother taught in, the place where she first learned to love moving.
'The first memory I have of dancing is being in the dance studio that I grew up in as a toddler, just running around with my little friends and playing in all the tutus and trying on the pointe shoes,' Dayton said.
'I remember going on stage and being in my own little bubble, just feeling like I was super happy and this was the place that I needed to be - even as a child, I found so much joy in performing and that's what really drove my passion for dance, the performance aspect.'
Though dancing had always been a part of her life, Dayton wasn't always sure if it was something that she would pursue professionally, especially since she grew up seeing the commitment it demanded of her mother. By the time she was in high school, however, she began to take it seriously and knew that when she graduated, she would pursue it professionally.
'I was talented and I didn't want to waste that,' Dayton said. 'I started to take more classes and just fully threw myself into dance.'
For Dayton, DCC wasn't even a goal when she first started pursuing dance professionally. As a dancer, her strengths were in styles like ballet, lyrical and contemporary.
She kicked off her career as a dancer on a Royal Caribbean cruise, which she called a 'dream' gig for her. But as her work progressed, she felt herself drawn to the prospect of following in her mother's footsteps as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
Looking back, Dayton recognizes how unhealthy the path was. She said: 'Now, I just try to take care of my body. I was dealing with some really bad thoughts for a long time, so it took a toll on me completely. It really just changes your body, the way you think of yourself.'
Dayton began dancing as a toddler at the dance studio her mother taught at
Throughout Dayton's life, dance has been a source of joy
Making DCC consumed her thoughts, dominated her schedule, and took its toll on her mental and physical health, something she still struggles with to this day
Though she was drawn to follow in her mother's footsteps at DCC, Dayton ultimately decided she was on a different journey
After Bramhall didn't make the team for a fourth time, she knew that she was done with trying out for DCC. When season three of the show came out in June, she wasn't interested in reliving what happened.
'I did not watch all of the show because honestly, it was really hard to even watch the episode that I was on,' Dayton said.
'I think once I was cut from the team, I was just done with that world because I had put so much energy and time into it. Now that I've pulled myself away from that, I didn't feel the need to see the rest. I didn't need to watch to know what was happening in real life.'
Now, Dayton has found that there is a whole world of opportunities outside of Dallas and being a Cowboys cheerleader. She's made some major life changes that she says have brought her 'a lot of joy.'
'I'm about to turn 29, so this is my last year of my 20s and I don't want to take it for granted,' Dayton said. 'I'm really just trying to dip my toes into any pool I can possibly find and see where I feel most comfortable.
'I spent so much time revelling in one opportunity when I could have been doing this for the past 10 years, so it's been really exciting, and extremely inspiring, for me, and very motivating.'
She's moved to a new city, Houston; started a new job in marketing and social media; and started a new relationship, rekindling a connection with someone that she knew in high school. Her weekends are spent exploring her new city, where her parents now also live, trying new restaurants and visiting museums and parks.
And while she might have a new day job in marketing, she isn't saying goodbye to dance any time soon. She's been taking classes in Houston and experimenting with what a dance career could look like in Houston, from dancing at theatres or in contemporary dance companies to performing with a sports franchise's dance team, like the Houston Astros' Shooting Stars.
Dayton's passion for dance precedes the years spent fighting for a slot on the DCC line-up
Dayton would still love to pursue a career in professional dance, just not with DCC
Dayton has moved to a new city, started a new relationship and recently visited Europe
'I love my marketing job, but it ain't dance,' Dayton said. 'It's not the same. This is not what I was trained for my whole life, so I really hope that dancing full-time is what is in my future, and I actually feel like it is.'
Turning the page on DCC has given her a new outlook on life – and reminded her just why she dances.
'Pulling myself out of a situation where I felt stuck or minimized and putting myself in a garden where I can grow has changed my life completely,' she said. 'This joy that I have with dance hasn't been there for a very long time, but I know that it's coming.'
For Dayton, these fresh starts have been affirmations of what she knows to be true – she has made the right decision to try new things and to embrace the people and places that welcome her.
Today, she said, after so many years of judgement and rejection, she knows her worth: 'The only opinion that matters is yours.'
