“I struggled with depression” - Current Champion documents overcoming severe personal issues ahead of WWE run
Even WWE Superstars suffer from mental struggles on a daily basis.
While some fans view their favorite WWE Superstars as superheroes, the men and women of RAW and SmackDown are still human at the end of the day.
WWE RAW Women's Champion Bianca Belair was a recent guest on Cold As Balls with Kevin Hart to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about her love of track and field growing up, Belair spoke about being involved with it from a young age.
"Track and Field that was like my first love. I was a big Flo Jo fan. And something just drew me to her like she was the first female athlete that embraced her beauty and strength," Bianca Belair said. "I started running track when I was like five years old and I was out there and my gymnastics, leotards, and lipstick people were calling me a little mini Flo Jo and I think I fell in love with the athleticism of the sport."
She also discussed how she struggled during these years with trying to lose weight, which caused her to develop bulimia, body dysmorphia, and depression.
"I always thought that if I could lose weight that I could run faster, and I reached a plateau and so I struggled with bulimia, body dysmorphia, and then my identity was attached to track and field and being an 18-year-old in college and trying to figure out who I was as a person I struggled with depression so I was just like all over the place." [Timestamp: 1:32 - 2:41]
It took a while for The EST of WWE to ask for help from her family
Bianca Belair suffered with these things in silence for quite some time before she decided to go to her family for help.
The EST of WWE believes surrounding herself with loved ones helped her get through her issues at the time.
"Nobody was aware. I was like dealing with this on the inside and it really didn't come to a head when like I just couldn't hide it anymore," Bianca Belair said. "That's when I got my family involved. Once you become vulnerable and you acknowledge that you're going through something and you surround yourself with like loved ones, then you can finally get help and that's what happened for me." [Timestamp: 2:48 - 3:08]
Can’t have the best athletes hitting the tub without me in it.
The EST!
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What do you make of Belair's comments? Were you surprised to learn about her struggles before becoming a WWE Superstar? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Cold as Balls with a link back to this article for the transcription.