WWE star Paige shares moving story, saying a comment from her dad helped save her life during a tough time.
WWE star Paige recently shared how her dad helped her through one of her darkest times when she thought about taking her own life. Paige, whose real name is Saraya-Jade Bevis, made an amazing comeback at WrestleMania 42, her first WWE match since 2017. She surprised everyone by teaming up with Brie Bella after Brie’s twin sister Nikki got hurt. The crowd at the Allegiant Stadium went wild when her music played.
Paige, now 33, won the WWE women’s tag team championship with Brie after pinning Alexa Bliss with her finishing move, RamPaige. It was a truly emotional moment for her because years ago, she struggled deeply after private videos of her were leaked online.
Right after her return, Paige appeared on the ‘What’s Your Story?’ podcast with WWE Hall of Famer Stephanie McMahon, where she opened up about those suicidal feelings. The phone call that changed everything was with her dad, British wrestling legend Ricky Knight. He comforted her and told her everything would be okay.
“When those tapes leaked, I just ran away,” Paige said. “I hid in a bush outside a grocery store in Texas, feeling so humiliated by what people were saying about me online. I was only 19, and it was my private life. I told my dad, ‘If you don’t accept me, I can’t go on.’ I felt completely alone.”
“But he was amazing,” she added. “He said, ‘It’s okay, princess—everyone has a private life, yours just happened to be online. You could be famous like Kim Kardashian!’ I couldn’t believe he knew who she was! He really saved my life that day. I hit my lowest point and didn’t want to be here anymore, but my dad gave me hope.”
The leaks caused Paige a lot of pain, leading to stress-induced anorexia and struggles with drug addiction. She had to retire in 2018 because of a neck injury but later worked as Smackdown general manager and even joined AEW, where she became women’s world champion. After leaving AEW, she was medically cleared and re-signed with WWE on a multi-year deal.
Paige’s story inspired the movie ‘Fighting My Family,’ based on a documentary about her wrestling family. The film was produced by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and featured actors like Vince Vaughn and Florence Pugh, who played Paige early in her acting career.
If you’re going through a hard time and need someone to talk to, you’re not alone. You can call Samaritans any time for free and confidential support at 116 123, or visit Harmless online at https://harmless.org.uk.