Brie Garcia explains how working at Hooters helped The Bella Twins succeed in WWE
Brie Garcia, formerly known as Brie Bella of The Bella Twins, recently shared that working at Hooters with her sister Nikki helped them succeed in WWE. The Bellas had a great and long career in wrestling, which was one of the reasons they were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020.
Before going into pro wrestling, the twins worked at Hooters when they were in college and later moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and modeling. They participated in the 2006 WWE Diva Search and failed to make it through. However, they were later offered contracts, and the rest was history.
In an interview with The New York Post, Brie and Nikki Bella discussed their job as waitresses at Hooters before WWE. The former even explained how it helped them become one of the most successful female superstars ever.
"Working there, you really owned your feminine energy. As a waitress, you have to have confidence to go up to strangers and talk. But we had to have thick skin and not only confidence, but you had to own it. You're going up to men, who are excited and want to get crazy. So we knew how to keep them in line. … And we all set boundaries for ourselves. ... And didn't take any crap from our customers. So it really taught me at a young age just to stand up for myself and to own it, own the room and own a table. And I think it really helped me with pro wrestling to take that attitude into that," Brie said.
The Bella Twins trained at Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) for about a year before they got called up to the main roster. Nikki was a two-time Divas Champion, while Brie won the same title once.
Nikki and Brie are no longer The Bella Twins
The Bella Twins decided not to sign contract extensions with WWE and announced their departure in March 2023. Nikki and Brie wanted to move on to the next chapter of their lives and left The Bella Twins' name. They are now called The Garcia Twins since Garcia was their maiden name.
"It was scary when we decided to do it. I feel like anytime you have to make that decision, that big leap of faith, you’re always like, 'Okay, are we going to fail? Or is this going to be successful?' It's been a year, it's been really empowering. I have to tell you, to finally get our power back and not to have to answer to anyone and, at 40 years old, make your own decisions and be in charge of your own career, it's been incredible," Nikki said on the Jennifer Hudson Show earlier this year about taking control of their careers. [H/T: The Koalition]
Nikki and Brie have different business ventures but have their own podcast called The Nikki & Brie Show. They also have a YouTube channel with 3.45 million subscribers.