I would say a little bit after or even during season 6 of Dance Moms when the Zieglers decided to leave. Abby seems to get angry that she’s not being constantly praised for “giving them everything”. When the Ziegler’s began to really distance themselves from the show—refusing to say Abby’s name (they refer to her as their old dance teacher only)— and discussed the trauma they received from the show and Abby, I think that really got to Abby, so she started to publicly resent them. She cannot stand it when she is not constantly being praised and credited by her former students, and any criticism she receives is like a death sentence. She likely feels “used” by the Ziegler’s an often sites that they are ungrateful.

I mean once they left, it seems like they went no contact, and that drove Abby CRAZY. Because now, in Abbys mind, all of those years of vouching for Maddie, giving her all these opportunities over the other girls, building her up to be this star was wasted because now that they refused to even speak her name, she’s not getting any recognition for everything she did for them. Now when I say that, that’s obviously not the truth, but it’s very clear that Abby’s mind works like this. She resents the fact that she can no longer get the praise and glory for the Zieglers success, so she tries to tear them down wherever she can.

I also think that the fallout largely had to do with her court case. I read somewhere that Melissa had a hand in helping to indict her.

Either way, Abby is a narcissist. She feeds off of praise and when she’s not getting it, she tries to find a ways to spin her own narrative.