Abby Lee Miller Just Got Out Of Prison Early, Sort Of

Abby Lee Miller Dance Moms

Abby Lee Miller is a free woman. Kinda. To complete her last couple months of incarceration, the Dance Moms personality will be transferred from prison to a halfway house. The reality TV star is scheduled to be released from her sentence on May 25 -- a little less than two months from today.

TMZ released the newest Abby Lee Miller update. The famous mom was placed in the Victorville, CA prison, where Abby Lee Miller entered in July and served eight months of her sentence, but she's now relocated at the Residental Reentry Center in Long Beach. This stay provides Miller with a "safe, structured and supervised environment" where she's given employment counseling and financial management assistance, as well as job placement. There's a good chance she'll make televised appearances after her time in the slammer, though. Miller's TV return should prove to be a ratings smash.

While this new halfway house might seem like a cushy place, Entertainment Tonight suggests it's even more restricted than Abby Lee Miller's prison situation. According to Jennifer Myers, Miller's former prison consultant and coach, Miller's current confinement will not serve as an easy adjustment.

It's fantastic news, of course. Anybody would be happy to get out, but once you get there, some of the women have complained and say it is worse than prison. It is not a fun place to be, but it is one step closer to getting home...The halfway house is a facility that is locked down and the doors lock and there are video cameras monitoring everyone. It is a cared-for facility, not like a regular house... It's a little bit of an adjustment. They can be strict and Abby will definitely have to follow the rules. The halfway house is not a fun place to be. The men and women are segregated, but she will be with women she does not know.

Last year, Abby Lee Miller was sentenced to prison after she was indicted on 20 counts of fraud, all of which Miller plead guilty to. Prosecutors claimed Abby Lee Miller hid $755,000 in income, which she reportedly earned from Dance Moms, from the government. The story has followed the media personality for the past few years, and it has only gotten uglier. Miller began her one-year and one-day prison sentence during this past summer.

It's unclear what the future holds for Abby Lee Miller. The dance instructor left the reality TV series around the same time she was being sent to prison, and Miller was replaced by fellow reality TV star and Dancing with the Stars veteran Cheryl Burke. Burke was picked as Miller's replacement not long after the original figurehead of Dance Moms announced her exit from the dance-centric reality TV program. So, it doesn't sound like Miller will be returning to the hit Lifetime show, but there's a good chance her latest adventures will be picked up and explored on a different upcoming series.

There is no shortage of drama in Abby Lee Miller's life, and we're sure that we'll be hearing more from Abby Lee Miller and her camp whenever she's completely free of the charges labeled against her. Either on Dance Moms or elsewhere, we know we're going to see Abby Lee Miller again real soon.

Will Ashton

Will is an entertainment writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. His writing can also be found in The Playlist, Cut Print Film, We Got This Covered, The Young Folks, Slate and other outlets. He also co-hosts the weekly film/TV podcast Cinemaholics with Jon Negroni and he likes to think he's a professional Garfield enthusiast.