Paige is speaking out about abuse that she suffered at the hands of an ex.
This past summer, the #SpeakingOut movement rocked the world of wrestling with pro wrestlers, many of whom were women, coming forward to talk about abuse that they have suffered through their time in the industry. Now, former WWE Divas Champion Paige is speaking out about an ex that she refuses to name, but it is implied that she is referencing former WWE Champion, Alberto Del Rio.
Making an appearance on the Grown Ass Women podcast, Paige discusses a cycle of abuse that she went through in a previous relationship noting that she had never opened up about it on any public platform in the past.
“I've never openly talked about, you know, my ex, which is very -- it's out there, but I've never talked about it,” she began. “It was very obvious what was happening and it's very obvious what I went through and all that kind of stuff. At the beginning, you fight back when it comes to that kinda stuff, you're fighting back with this person. You're like, 'I'm not going to take this shit. This is not how I got brought up.' But in the end, it becomes a cycle where if you fight back, it just gets worse. So then you go through a stage where you just -- it's once every couple of weeks, to once a week, to every other day, to nearly every single day when something is happening to you and it's not just for an hour, it's for hours. It's up to six, seven hours a day.”
She continued, “You're literally trapped in the room and getting your ass beat every couple of minutes and doing all these crazy things to you. I never thought I would ever be in that position in my life just because of the way I got brought up. I never thought it [would happen] but it happens to even the strongest people and you should never feel bad about it.”
Paige would then go on to say that she experienced a lot of victim-blaming on the internet before saying that she would never reference her abuser by name again but that he is currently getting a dose of karma.
“I never spoke about it ever in any context, in any podcast, in any interview. I always stayed away from it. But now it's completely out there. I'm just like, 'Why am I shying away from this? Why am I not brave enough to talk about it?' I'll never say his name again because he's like Voldemort to me. He doesn't deserve to have that kind of [respect]. What happened to him, karma is a real thing. You put out what you receive and right now he's receiving.”
Paige was in a relationship with Alberto Del Rio in 2016 when they were both with WWE. During this time, Paige also suffered several invasions of privacy with private photos and videos of her being leaked onto the internet.
Del Rio is currently slated to appear in court on January 25, 2021, following him being charged with sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping, with the latter being listed as the primary charge. If convicted in the first degree, it could result in a sentence ranging from five to 99 years or life in prison and/or a fine up to $10,000.
Alberto Del Rio has identified himself as the person these comments are in relation to. You can learn more about that at this link.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Fightful for the transcription by linking back to this article.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of domestic abuse, you can get help by contacting the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
