Paige On Why She And Alberto El Patron Split, Her Health, WWE Studios Movie, Absolution Praise, More
As noted, Paige recently appeared on Lilian Garcia's "Chasing Glory" podcast and discussed a number of topics, including her WWE suspensions and the private photos & videos being leaked. We have more highlights from the interview at this link. Thanks to Reddit user StillScreamin for the following notes.
Earlier we noted how Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H were all very supportive when she made her WWE return several weeks back. Paige said she wants to prove to the McMahons that wrestling is her life and that she wants to be in WWE. She added that the side of her from the past year is gone. She said she's a lot more conservative backstage these days and not as crazy as she's just a happier person in general. Paige said the return pop she received on RAW a few weeks back almost made her cry on stage.
Paige also commented on how this is her world and she did take a step out of it for a while but she's so happy to be back now that she's returned and been able to see everyone again. She mentioned how she had cut off contact with Alicia Fox for a year and a half but she texted her to apologize, to say she loves her, and now they're best friends again. Paige called Fox an amazing friend and said some people walked out of her life but Fox always had her back. She also commented on how the locker room has been great to her since her return but she can see that some of the talents aren't exactly happy that she's being pushed.
Regarding the Absolution stable with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, Paige commented on how she loves being able to help them. They come up to her a lot and she listens to their promos to offer feedback. Paige said she's really protective of Rose and Deville. She also praised Deville as the only open homosexual female on the roster right now. She said she loves Rose because of how humble she is. Paige said she's so happy for Rose because she may be a pretty face but she's also so humbled and works so hard. Paige also talked about Nia Jax and how she loves the diversity of the locker room these days. She said Nia gets a lot of hate but she's beautiful inside & out. She called Nia gorgeous and commented on how she always gives Nia a big hug and tells her how beautiful she is when she sees her. She also talked about being nervous for her recent return match against Sasha Banks. She said they aren't close but Sasha helped her through the match so much and that Sasha is just great. Paige also noted that Sasha protected her a lot during the match, something she will always be thankful for. Regarding Emma's recent WWE release, Paige called her fantastic and said she was sad & bummed out because they both helped put women's wrestling on the map while in WWE NXT.
Paige also revealed that she's suffering from scoliosis and blamed years of wrestling on her neck injury. She said she's not worried about her health because she has all the help she needs backstage. She recalled taking a bump on the outside one day but it didn't feel right. She woke up soon after and was in a lot of pain. She had a lot of sleepless nights and cried a lot but she never wanted to tell WWE she was hurt because she wanted to keep working. She finally told WWE of her problems after realizing that she didn't want to be a danger to others in the ring because she had botched some moves. She also revealed that she didn't wear a neck brace after having a hernia removed. She then went to the gym and worked out but got another hernia so she decided to just rest for a few months.
Paige recalled seeing The Rock at WrestleMania 30 and how he told her that she would be debuting on RAW the next night. He also told her that he wanted to do a movie about her family as her family reminds him of his own, and that he loves her family. Paige said she's seen a pre-screening of the upcoming "Fighting With My Family" film from Rock and WWE Studios, and she cried because it's amazing. She praised the cast for their work. Paige revealed that she will start doing media for the movie soon, calling it all surreal. Her real family will have parts as extras in the movie. She also talked about being worried that the movie would be nixed after her private photos & videos were leaked but said everyone believed in the movie so much that they decided to move forward.
Regarding her former partner Alberto El Patron, Paige said she does not hate him in any way. She said they broke up because she wanted to fix her life and he wanted to focus on his family. Paige said she asked Alberto not to say anything because she was tired of the media knowing everything about her and she didn't want anyone knowing her business. She commented on the recent video that surfaced of her saying she was single. She said she thought her friend's Snapchat account was private but she messed up saying she was single and it got out. Paige said she and Alberto don't talk but she wishes him the best. She recalled her father telling her she would end up like late singer Amy Winehouse, so she cut off contact with him and everyone else. Her dad told her he didn't want to wake up and hear that she was dead, and that broke her heart but now he's so proud of her. She also talked about getting off drugs after her second WWE suspension. As noted earlier, she said her first WWE suspension was not related to drug use but the second was. She said a lot of people wrote to her and her brothers would send photos of her nieces & nephews, which helped the process. She realized she needed her family and woke up one day asking herself, "What the hell are you doing? You have everything. She helps her family so much with money so why is she risking this?" She said she was stupid for throwing everything away as she loves her job, her family and her fans.
Paige also said she stopped drinking alcohol for a while and started taking boxing classes. She's now gradually getting back into shape. She talked more about WWE supporting her through everything and she went off the deep end but they stuck by her every step of the way. She said she's happy she got into the business as young as she did because she learned a lot. She said she's not happy with how the past year has been but she's glad it happened to her instead of someone who couldn't handle it because she has a platform and is able to overcome it to help everyone else. She also revealed that she got pregnant at 17 or 18 but lost the baby. She said it was stupid getting pregnant at that age but she was devastated to lose the baby. She said there was an issue with her ovaries and she had to have surgery to remove the issue. The surgery was right before NXT "Takeover: Arrival" in late February 2014 and she was cleared on the day of the event, where she had a great match with Emma. Paige said she can't have kids now and it makes her sad but she would love to adopt in the future.
Paige later praised her fans and thanked them, saying they don't realize how much they have helped her get through everything. She said she loves her fans and commented on how she's tagged in something inspiring about her every single day. She praised her fans for welcoming her back and having her back. She also thanked Alberto for saying sweet things about her return in media interviews. Paige said she can't wait to show the world what she has to offer and commented on how her goals now are to maintain her new YouTube channel, become RAW Women's Champion and make it into the WWE Hall of Fame. She also said she misses the madness of Total Divas and would love to return to the show but if she were to come back, she wouldn't be the same crazy, outlandish chick that she was because she's grown up a lot. Lilian asked Paige what she would say to her 13 year old self and Paige said to always be aware of what you're doing, then she joked about not doing anything with cameras.