Sonya Deville Explains How Her Coming Out On WWE Television Was An 'Accident'

Sonya Deville made history as one of the first openly gay female WWE Superstars, but her coming-out moment wasn't planned – it was an accident that unfolded on live television. During an interview with Fox5 New York, Deville recalled the unexpected way she came out while competing on Tough Enough, WWE's reality competition series.

"So I was on Tough Enough, the reality show. The first episode of that show was the tryouts for the show. So they showed all the competitors trying out to be on the show, and part of the tryouts was an in-ring interview essentially with Triple H.," Deville recalled. "One of his first questions he asked me which was a pretty standard reality TV question, like, are you in a relationship, are you single."

That seemingly simple question put Deville in a difficult spot, forcing her to make a split-second decision.

"For me, it was a loaded question, 'cause I had a girlfriend but I was not out at the time. So I kind of just froze and was like, yeah I have a girlfriend but she's not my wife yet. I just got nervous and said like a really weird answer and he starts laughing, he's like, did you just come out on national television, and I was like, uhh I guess so. Then I had to rush backstage to call my girlfriend at the time 'cause she wasn't even out to her parents ... so that's my coming out."

Deville's journey has since made her a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ representation in wrestling. However, Deville's personal life stayed in the news cycle for more concerning reasons during a crazy time period where she experienced a home invasion and attempted kidnapping. On screen, she remains a part of PFC with Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler following her recovery from an ACL injury. 

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Fox5 New York" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.