Charlotte Flair Opens Up About Disconnecting From WWE During Hiatus

Since signing with WWE 11 years ago, Charlotte Flair has immersed herself in the world of professional wrestling. During her time with the company, she's acquired 14 world titles while taking on a highly demanding travel schedule that includes televised events, house shows, and personal appearances.

Flair pumped the brakes on her hectic schedule last year, as she took a near-eight-month hiatus from WWE programming to marry her long-time partner, Andrade El Idolo, and address some lingering dental issues. Though much of her absence served as recovery time from her dental procedures, it also opened the door for Flair to finally detach herself from wrestling and explore life outside of it. "I was pretty disconnected," Flair said "Out of Character with Ryan Satin."

"It's like, what do I want? What do Manny [Idolo) and I want? What does the future look like?" Flair said. "This time has gone by so fast and everyone says it does, and it has. In the same breath, I still feel like there's all these things I want to do, but I keep getting asked all these questions like, 'what's next?' Am I supposed to want to be done? I never thought of it that way, so disconnecting for me was more like ... when I joined FCW, that turned into 'NXT,' and my brother died, I just never looked back and just threw myself into work."

As "The Queen" unplugged for the first time, she realized she enjoyed museums, as the newlyweds explored Rome, Venice, and Florence, Italy. "I was really intrigued and wanted to learn more ... I was blown away." she said. Following their wedding, Flair and Idolo also made their way to Costa Rica and Tequila, Mexico.

Flair returned to WWE on December 30, defeating Ronda Rousey for the "SmackDown" Women's Championship.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Out of Character with Ryan Satin" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.