Bobby Lashley's ex-girlfriend explains why she left the wrestling business three years after WWE departure
Bobby Lashley's former partner Kristal Marshall has opened up about her decision to walk away from the wrestling industry.
Marshall finished fourth in the WWE RAW Diva Search competition before appearing as a SmackDown on-screen personality between 2005 and 2007. She briefly aligned with her then-boyfriend Lashley in IMPACT/TNA in 2009 before leaving the company in 2010.
In an interview with Just Alyx, the 38-year-old explained that she struggled to keep up with the hectic wrestling schedule following her son's birth:
"A lot of it had to do with my kid, my son," Marshall said. "He was really, really young, so I got back into TNA and he was maybe like a year [old]. It was just something that was really hard to do, especially with my partner [Bobby Lashley] at the time, him being in the business and dabbling in MMA, it was really, really hard for me to take care of the kids and do that. I see a lot of women doing it now, but at the time it wasn't really an option for me." [0:13 – 0:41]
Lashley and Marshall have two children together, Myles (born in 2008) and Naomi (born in 2011). The former couple separated in 2010.
Kristal Marshall dated Bobby Lashley off-screen and Teddy Long on-screen
WWE executive Bruce Prichard was a creative team member when Kristal Marshall became involved in a romantic storyline with former SmackDown general manager Teddy Long.
On his Something to Wrestle With podcast, Prichard recently spoke about Marshall's reluctance to participate in the outlandish angle:
"First of all, I enjoyed the hell out of Kristal. I liked Kristal a lot. I think once Kristal got into a position into the storyline and things got into her personal life where it was like, 'Okay, she is in a romantic relationship on a TV show with Teddy Long,' that balancing act with her personal life, I don't know if she really liked that too much."
Marshall also revealed that she would like to return to WWE as a participant in the 2023 Women's Royal Rumble Match.
Do you have any favorite memories of Bobby Lashley and Kristal Marshall? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Just Alyx and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.