Current WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair has bravely discussed her time in a psychiatric hospital, expressing gratitude to her track and field coach for helping her.
‘The EST of WWE’ is currently one of the company’s top Superstars, changing the trajectory for future generations of female athletes, but this may not have been the case had her mental health continued on a downward spiral.
Opening up to BT Sport’s Ariel Helwani, Bianca Belair has fearlessly discussed her journey throughout college, discussing the time she spent in a psychiatric hospital and expressing how she was feeling to her parents:
“Not realising that I was carrying it all with me to Texas A&M, which is why I was unsuccessful there. Texas A&M, amazing program, amazing coach. Coach Vince Anderson at the time was the one who, at my lowest point, pulled me from the track team. He told me, ‘You can’t compete until you get yourself together mentally because this is more important than what you do on the track.’
It got to a point where I was put into a psychiatric hospital, it got that low. I was still hiding it and that was when everyone found out. So he was the one, once I got out, he said, ‘I can’t come back.’ He made me see a psychiatrist, he was like, ‘You have to get yourself together mentally because that is what is more important.’ He was the first person who put my mental health above anything else.
My parents, I was finally open up to my parents and be vulnerable to them, and that was one big major step to my recovery with everything.”
Earlier in the sit-down interview, Bianca Belair also addressed how she dealt with an eating disorder during high school, describing the situation as having a “very unhealthy relationship with food”:
“My freshman year, I just struggled so much mentally. I was struggling with an eating disorder secretly in high school, so when I got to college I told myself, ‘Okay, I’m not going to do this anymore. I’m gonna be healthy.”
Signing with WWE in April 2016, Bianca Belair spent four years in NXT, proving herself as a valuable asset to the company before ultimately joining the main roster in early 2020. Belair has since held both the SmackDown and, currently, Raw Women’s Championships, alongside holding a number of accolades.
Most notable, perhaps, is being ranked first on Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Women’s 150 for 2021. It was during this year that Bianca Belair’s career skyrocketed, beginning with a Royal Rumble victory that ultimately led to her acclaimed WrestleMania bout vs. Sasha Banks.
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