To say that Paige has had an up and down career and life since 2016 would be an understatement. The topic of headlines, the subject of suspensions, and the target of a moving ovation upon her return, Paige is opening up about the rollercoaster ride she's been on.
On the latest edition of Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia, Paige addressed her infamous personal video leaks from earlier this year. According to the former NXT and Diva's champion, she still experiences comments in public about the private videos -- as recently as the day before the interview.
"That scarred me. People invading my privacy to the point where I don't even want to go out because people are looking at me bad. I was out yesterday with my friends and this guy goes up to my friend and says 'that's the porn star, I j---ed off to her yesterday.' My friend Zahra (Schrieber) stood up for me. I just went in the toilet and cried. I don't cry a lot either," Paige said, sobbing. "I find it really hard to be close with anybody, and that's the reason why. I'm not a bad person. I don't want to be known as that. People make mistakes. I was young, I was dumb, 19 or 20, and was dumb. Those are the kind of things I just want to tell the girls -- social media is a big thing, cameras are a big thing -- be careful what you do with it. That's something I have to live with every time I walk down the street. Everyone has seen every part of me. I make jokes about it because it helps me heal. When someone degrades me like that -- I don't deserve that. I buried myself in the house for months. I was contemplating suicide, I was so sad. That's why I was doing stupid stuff. I was in a really bad place."
Paige revealed that she collapsed with exhaustion in England following the event due to stress-induced anorexia. Paige had lost hair due to the situation, and was out of the public spotlight for several months outside of controversies involving herself and ex-fiancee Alberto Del Rio. Xavier Woods, who was also in the videos, was also discussed.
"Woods is a really nice guy, he's actually my friend. I also feel bad for him. I was degrading myself as a woman and I'd never want another woman to do. It's an experience I learned from -- especially now. Don't do that to someone you think you love. I would just tell everybody, men and women, you do not want that stuff out there about you. You have to think about your family. My ex's kids were at school and they got crap for it. I had to live with that," she said.
It's worth noting that Brad Maddox, who shot many of the videos, was never mentioned by name.
You can hear Paige's full interview with Lilian Garcia at this link.
When using any quotes from this transcript, please credit Fightful.com.
