5 times WWE Superstars dated their fans
Some former and current WWE Superstars have dated their fans in the past few decades.
Several fans had crushes on their favorite superstars growing up. Otis, for example, had confessed to being attracted to Trish Stratus when he was a fan. He even got speared by security as he rushed to slap Stratus' hand at a WWE event when he was only a fifth-grader.
While Otis never dated Stratus in real-life, other WWE fans did get romantically involved with their favorite superstars. One of these performers is even married to one of his fans.
Here are five times WWE Superstars have dated their fans.
#5. WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart - Cinzia Rota
In 2002, Bret Hart divorced his first wife, Julie Smadu. Their marriage reportedly ended after The Hitman had an affair with an Italian woman, Cinzia Rota. The pair met at an autograph signing during a trip to Italy, two years after his divorce, Rota and Hart tied the knot.
Growing up, Rota was a big fan of Hart. In his autobiography "Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling," the WWE Hall of Famer revealed that Rota had wanted to marry him since she was 14.
"In September 2004, I married the beautiful Italian girl with the piercing blue eyes. Cinzia showed me her diary from 1995, when she was fourteen, where she'd written that someday she'd marry me. She did," he wrote.
However, the couple later split. The Hitman explained that they ended their relationship because Rota felt homesick and wanted to live close to her family in Italy.
"We'd called it quits simply because she could never be so far away from her home country and family. After thirty years of being away from home I knew exactly how she felt. But polar bears never slow down, they move ever forward - and I have always been a survivor," Hart added in his book.
Hart and Rota finalized their divorce in 2007. That same year, The Hitman made his first WWE appearance in nearly a decade.
#4. WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels and Sunny
Shawn Michaels and Tammy Sytch during their “sunny days” period in the late 90s ❤️ https://t.co/trlZDEIdGj
In the mid-1980s, Shawn Michaels kicked off his professional wrestling career. The 56-year-old quickly built a fanbase and joined Vince McMahon's company in 1988. Nearly seven years later, Sunny also signed with WWE.
In her autobiography, "A Star Shattered: The Rise & Fall & Rise of Wrestling Diva," Sunny revealed that she was a fan of Michaels long before becoming his co-worker.
"I was in love with Shawn Michaels when I was 13 years old. So now, being a co-worker and in the same locker room as him, I couldn't help but admire him, up close and personal," she wrote.
While working together in WWE, Sunny had a brief romance with her childhood crush, Shawn Michaels. The couple dated for nearly nine months before The Heartbreak Kid ended their relationship after Sunny refused to move in with him.
#3. Randy Orton - Kim Kessler
Kim Kessler was a fan of Randy Orton for many years before meeting him in person, even being a member of his fan club. The mother-of-four believed that The Viper would fall in love with her if they ever met, she was not mistaken.
In 2012, Kessler attended a WWE show in New York where Orton performed. While standing among the crowd, she caught the eye of The Viper as he headed to the ring.
On an episode of WWE Network's Table for 3, Kessler disclosed how she and Orton kicked off their romance that night.
"So yeah, I bought tickets to a show. I am standing there and he is like looking and he is in the ring and he is like looking, and some girl that was sitting next to me that I didn't know, she is like: 'he keeps staring at you', and I'm like: 'I know', I go 'I thought it was me'. I'm standing right in the isle and he walks up to me and he is like 'What is your name because I need to know like what all this is about' and I'm like 'ahhh' I'm trying to play it so cool, I'm like 'My name is Kim', and we have been together ever since that day." [1:08 - 1:51]
Orton and Kessler dated for a few years before tying the knot in 2015. They are now raising five children, three from Kim's first marriage, one from Orton's, and their daughter together.
#2. WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker - Sara Frank
In 1989, The Undertaker married his first wife, Jodi Lynn. However, their marriage ended a decade later. Following their divorce, The Undertaker tied the knot with his second wife, Sara Frank, in 2000.
Frank was a fan of The Deadman. The couple first met at a WWE autograph signing in San Diego, California, in 1999 and immediately clicked.
"I don't want to say Sara's unladylike, but her interests are very male oriented. It's like having a buddy and a wife. Football, anything physical like that, we sit and watch together. And she's knowledgeable about all of it, you don't have to sit there and explain things to her. In fact, we get into arguments about who knows more about boxing, me or her. She tells me she's forgotten more boxing than I'll ever know. She's all woman, but she's very much a tomboy. She's been a real turning point in my life," The Undertaker said in an old interview.
After marrying The Deadman, Frank made a few appearances on WWE television. The couple had two daughters together before they divorced in 2007. The Undertaker is currently married to former Women's Champion Michelle McCool.
#1. WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart - Rosemary
Cinzia Rota was not the only fan Bret Hart dated. In May 1985, The Hitman had another affair with Rosemary, a fan he met at a restaurant while having breakfast in Newark, New Jersey.
In his autobiography "Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling," Hart revealed how he and Rosemary kicked off their relationship.
"While eating breakfast I noticed a new waitress with a great body, golden-brown skin, full red lips, eyes like a doe and dark hair. I was surprised when she said, with a Jersey accent, 'You're Bret Hitman Hart.' I was disappointed when she told me she'd be quitting at the end of the day. Rosemary was a twenty-one-year-old Puerto Rican bombshell. I told her I had to go to Poughkeepsie that day for the TV show but that with some luck I could be back early enough to give her a ride home if she liked. She said okay," he wrote.
After performing on a WWE show, Hart returned to meet Rosemary. The two sat in Hart's car and chatted until two in the morning. He then drove her home. Before leaving, Rosemary kissed Hart, gave him her phone number, and asked him to call her.
Despite being married at the time, Hart called Rosemary. When he met her again in June, the WWE Hall of Famer confessed to Rosemary that he was married and had children.
"Rosemary was pressed in close, her lipstick smudged, and I finally had to come clean with her. 'I have to tell you the truth. Rosie, I'm married.' She stiffened and moved away from me. 'I've got a little girl and a little boy, under two years old, at home. I understand why you're angry with me, but I'm just very lonely down here. I guess you won't want much of anything to do with me, but then again if you did … I like you a lot.' 'Take me home!' she said, her eyes hurt, wet and angry. But when she got out in front of her parents' place, our eyes met, and she seemed to soften. Maybe she needed me as badly as I needed her. 'Call me when you come back,'" Hart added in his book.
Hart's first wife, Julie, found out about his affair with Rosemary and threatened to leave him. The Hitman then ended his relationship with the waitress.