In February 2021, Lacey Evans was involved in a storyline with Ric Flair and Charlotte Flair when she announced that she was pregnant in real life.
The implication was that Ric was the father, though that was never stated on television. The angle ended up being dropped when Evans left to have her child and Ric Flair left WWE. Evans would return to television over a year later with vignettes airing following WrestleMania 38.
Speaking to Rick Ucchino of Bleav in Pro Wrestling, Evans revealed that she was ready to return sooner.
"Six weeks post-partum, I pushed my baby out and came running down, ready to rock and roll. It just was not my time to be ready to do so," she said when talking about when she wanted to return to TV.
When discussing her character change, going from the Sassy Southern Belle to portraying her true self, Evans was the one who pushed for the change.
"Since NXT, I have always wanted to use this platform and use this microphone to show the world what they are capable of, regardless of where they come from. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I literally came from the trailer park, straight into WWE and I'm surrounded by the Charlotte Flairs, Becky Lynchs, Nattie (Neidharts), that have so much time and names invested and family ties that make them so strong. I look around, and there was a voice that tells me, 'what are you doing here?' I say, 'No.' I relate and there are people out there who can relate to that. You know what I did, I said, 'screw this, I am Lacey Evans. I am going to come in here and stand toe to toe with these women and I'm going win and make it and pave my path and be a name that will be remembered, regardless of who I am.' Why not tell a story of, yeah, she was the Sassy Southern Belle, but she's also Lacey Evans and she does come from this, to show the world what they are capable of. When I pitched the idea of, 'can I come back, the real me, and show the world this hard-working, dedicated, motivated mother, marine, wife, woman, superstar that is not going to give up, but also cry on TV if she has to and tell her story, which is so hard to do. Can I do that? Can I be her? I'm still a sassy southern belle, I can still bake a pie just as good as I can fire a weapon, I just took the high heels off and dug my boots back out," she said.
Evans continued, saying WWE was supportive of her new direction and went ahead with the change.
"They loved the idea. It's different. I'm blessed that they are letting me because speaking about addiction and depression and mental health, that's hard. It's hard as a company to even tiptoe around that, but they've really let me tell the hell I've been through, that way the thousands and millions of people, the babies that were in my situation with addictive parents and mental health that's digging them down and in more holes than they started with when they were born, the parents that won't get off the addiction and won't get the help for depression, they are watching this and being like, 'Wow.' The babies are saying, 'I need to keep climbing' and the parents are saying, 'I need to fix myself.' It shows that I may be a superstar and be a beautiful, strong mother, but I am hurting and have been through so much that it's not fair. It's not fair as a daughter, as a kid, to go through what I've been through and be thrown out there into the world with Charlotte Flair and Nattie (Neidhart) and be looking around, and questioning if I have what it takes. Why did I deserve that? Telling my story is exciting because, if you are a kid that is going through it, keep your head up and keep going and know that it doesn't matter where you come from, you become what you want to become. If you're a parent that is destroying your baby's heart and grit, stop, get the help. It's out there, please," she said.
Evans is set to compete in the Women's Money in the Bank match at WWE Money in the Bank. She will also be in action on Friday's SmackDown in a six-woman tag team bout.
Fans can check out the current lineup for WWE Money in the Bank by clicking here.
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